


Teenage Blues

by Korrasami_Enthusiast



Series: Amor Prohidibo [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Asami is a teacher, Bittersweet Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hiroshi is (unfortunately) an asshole, Korra is a student, Sad Ending, Smut, slow burrrrnnn, so don't stress too much buddies!!, this story will have a sequel, tonraq is a cool dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:27:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 24
Words: 143,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26350375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Korrasami_Enthusiast/pseuds/Korrasami_Enthusiast
Summary: After her mother's death and a year of struggling to cope, Tonraq finally decides to enroll Korra in an all girls school named  Omashu Academy to help her get ahead of her studies and hopefully get pass the incident. Excited for a fresh, new start, Korra decides that no matter what, she will make the most of her time there and live out the life her mother had always wanted for her. However, she doesn't expect the curveball that is Asami Sato.*Author no longer able to promise weekly updates because life is annoying, but will update whenever I can, as frequently as I can!*
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Series: Amor Prohidibo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078628
Comments: 409
Kudos: 639





	1. New Girl-Labrinth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long, hot,and exhausting car ride, Korra finally arrives at Omashu Academy and gets settled in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting a song that I think kind of fits the vibe of every chapter and also is what the chapter is named after! This first song is called New Girl by Labrinth. It's the song that plays in the scene where Rue first sees Jules in Euphoria (watch Euphoria if you haven't already!) and I think it's sooooo cute and I like to imagine it playing during the part of the fic where Korra first lays eyes on Asami *heart eyes*

~Korra~

Korra drummed her fingers impatiently against the windowsill as she stared out into the vast, seemingly never-ending forest around the freeway. They had been driving for at least 6 hours now, and Korra absolutely _hated_ having to sit still for long periods of time. She glanced to the backseat and grimaced at her little brother Bato, fast asleep in his car seat with snot and drool running down his chin.

Gross, Korra thought, but then smiled fondly. She would miss the little brat, even though he annoyed her to no end. He made her feel needed.

She sighed softly and turned back around, fiddling with the sound on the radio. For the millionth time since the car ride began, ‘Life is a Highway’ began playing, and for the millionth time without fail, her dad began humming along and tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as if he was hearing it for the first time in a while.

Korra rolled her eyes.

“Dad, this is _at least_ the 15th time this song has played, can we _please_ switch to a different station? PLEASE?”

In response, he reached over and turned the radio up louder.

“Nope! My car, my rules. Deal with it brick head”, Tonraq said in a playful, mocking tone.

Korra knitted her eyebrows in frustration and sulked back into her seat with a huff.

Tonraq glanced at her briefly and smiled.

“Just for that, I’m not sending you any allowance money for the first month. Good luck paying for your meals”, he said as he stuck out his tongue.

Korra’s eyes widened suddenly and she sat up. “Wait okay Dad no, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please!”

“Nope, too late. I’ve spoiled you for long enough. As a matter of fact, why don’t you hitch a ride from someone else the rest of the way. It’s such a long drive back…”, Tonraq said teasingly as he began to ease the car to the side of the road.

“Dad, you wouldn’t dare!”

“I guess you don’t know me then…”

Korra sighed deeply, knowing what her dad wanted her to do. She glared at him for a moment, before she finally gave in.

“I only know the chorus”

“That’s more than enough for me”

She waited until the song got to his favorite part and then began belting out the lyrics horribly off-key.

“LIFE IS A HIIIIGHWAYYYY, WELL I WANNA RIIDE IT ALLL NIIIGHT LOOONG”

Tonraq laughed heartily and Korra grinned. A sound from the backseat made them both turn around to find Bato smiling at them sleepily. Korra’s chest filled with warmth and a tear almost slipped from her eye at the thought of leaving them to go to the academy. They were her only family and she loved them to death. She leaned her head back against her seat and closed her eyes, trying not to think about not seeing these two for the next four months.

______________________________________________

Finally, _finally_ , two hours later, the road merged into one single lane that eventually led up to a huge gate with the words ‘Omashu Academy’ in fancy, gold letters painted across the top. The gate and surrounding fence were covered in ivy and some sort of white lily-looking flower (at least Korra assumed it was lilies, she wasn’t good with anything nature-related). Tonraq pulled the rusty truck up to a callbox and pressed the button.

“Welp”, he said, amused, “Guess there’s no sneakin’ out of this joint huh Korr?”

Korra rolled her eyes, knowing he was referring to one _small_ incident in her preteen years where she broke out of her elementary school playground to catch the ice cream man before he turned the corner. It wasn’t her fault Tonraq gave her allowance money and allowed her to bring it to school.

There was a voice that spoke up and asked for the name of the driver and to state their business. Tonraq answered and after a beat, the huge gates slowly creaked open. All three people in the car could only sit and stare in awe as they rolled slowly around the circle driveway, stopping between the first building and the immaculate fountain in the center.

Bato’s face was smooshed against the window, staring at the fountain and surrounding buildings in amazement.

“Daddy this is a castle! No, no it’s a palace! Korra’s gonna be living in a palace. Daddy I wanna live in a palace. Let me stay with Korra? Please daddy? Pleaaaseeee”, Bato whined.

Korra smiled. “No Bato, you can’t stay here, it’s a girl only school. Besides, you don’t even know your ABC’s yet”, Korra said while sticking out her tongue but then reached back and ruffled his hair. “Also, you have to take care of Dad while I’m gone. If you’re not there, who’s gonna remind Dad to take his vitamins?!”

Bato considered this for a brief moment before sighing and nodding his head in agreement.

Korra chuckled and then turned her attention to the fountain in the middle of the driveway. It was a really pretty fountain actually, with a bush sculpture that told the story of how the city of Omashu California (which the academy was named after), came to be. The sculptures depicted a couple that embraced each other and stared lovingly into each other’s eyes as water sprouted up from somewhere in between them and then cascaded down around them. It clearly depicted a man and a woman, which for some reason caused Korra to snort.

Her father turned to her with a questioning look in his eyes

.

“Well, I was just thinking” Korra started, “ about how funny it is that this school is essentially in honor of this couple when it’s literally an all-girls school with no boys in sight, so this”, Korra waved to the sculpture, “could never even happen”.

Tonraq was silent for a moment, trying his hardest to hold back laughter at the naivety and innocence in his daughter.

“Korra, honey, you do know that sometimes, actually very often, girls can like other girls the same way that boys do.”

At this, Korra’s eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks got extremely red.

“W-What?!”, Korra sputtered in embarrassment. Was he teasing her, or did he really think she didn’t know what a lesbian was?

“And”, Tonraq continued, “if you did decide that you like girls the way boys do, I would accept you 100%, as I’m sure your mother would too, if she were here…”, he continued with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Okay she knew forsure he was fucking with her now.

“Dad that’s enough, I get it.”

“And being that it’s an all-girls school, I’m sure you might sometimes get the urge to experiment, either with the girls here or with the boys at the brother school, although I’m not sure how that would work out, what with this being a gated community and all, however I know that when it comes to teenagers, if there’s a will, there’s definitely a way, but just please make sure that you use protec- .”

“OKAY THAT’S IT, I’M LEAVING”, Korra yelped and dashed out the car to get her luggage and hand it to the student helpers that came out to greet them and take her stuff to her dorm, leaving Tonraq heaving over the steering wheel with laughter.

After handing over Korra’s luggage, the three began to trudge up the sidewalk to the building labeled ‘Welcome Point’ in single file, with Korra leading the way. A bell tinkled out softly as they entered the building and they stood for a moment to take in the cool atmosphere.

A tall, pale lady with a tattoo of an eye on her forehead at the front desk looked up at them and smiled warmly.

“You must be Korra, Tonraq, and little Bato! Hi, my name is P’Li and welcome to Omashu Academy”

Korra and Tonraq were a little too stunned by the tattoo to respond immediately but luckily the lady didn’t notice.

She glanced at her computer screen for a second and then looked back at the family.

“Just to confirm Korra, your last name is Waters, correct?”

“Yes ma’m it is”, Korra replied.

“Okay perfect, you’re all checked in. Mr. Waters, if you don’t mind, would you be a doll and come to the back office really quickly to meet with the headmaster and finalize some minor details about financial aid? It’ll only take a second. Korra, in a couple minutes your roommate and tour guide will be here to escort you to your dorm and show you around the academy.” she stated, smiling at Bato while handing him a lollipop. Bato took it eagerly and immediately started sucking on it.

“Sure thing, I’ll be right there. Bato, watch your sister for me, will ya?”

“Aye aye captain”, Bato saluted and then about-faced to keep his eyes on Korra, to which Korra just sighed and rolled her eyes.

They were alone for ten minutes with Korra trying to teach Bato how to play patty cake when the sound of a door opening, and bell tinkling filled the lobby. Korra glanced up to see a pretty, brown-skinned girl with light blue eyes and long black hair in a neat ponytail, walk into the lobby. Their eyes met and both girls smiled.

“You must be Korra. My name is Kya and I’ll be your tour guide for today as well as your roommate for…well I guess the rest of your time here”, She laughed while reaching her hand out.

Korra laughed too and accepted her handshake good naturedly.

“Hey Kya, nice to meet you. This is my little brother Bato.” Korra turned to introduce her brother but stopped in her tracks when she saw the mesmerized look in his eyes. She knew what that look meant and what followed was _always_ trouble.

“Bato, NO!”, she started, but it was too late.

In a flash, Bato had clung to Kya’s leg and was looking at her in wonder.

“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. Marry me and have my babies, together you and I will conquer the world.” Bato practically cooed at her.

Korra groaned in embarrassment and hid her face behind her hands, but Kya laughed.

“You are so adorable Bato, you remind me of my little brother, Hakoda. Unfortunately, I think the age difference is just too big. What would my father think of me bringing someone home that is still in a carseat?” Kya smirked.

Bato puffed out his chest dramatically. “Give me five years and I’ll be as big as…as big as a BEAR!”

Kya giggled but shook her head firmly. “Honestly, I’m flattered that the mighty Bato has taken such interest in me, but alas, I cannot accept this offer. Maybe a fair maiden closer to you in age would be more suitable?”

Bato sighed in defeat and slumped to the floor. “Your loss my beautiful lady but know that I do not give up easily! This is far from over.”

Korra almost sighed in relief when her dad finally re-emerged from the back office with P’Li and a short, brown-haired lady with circular glasses.

“Hello Korra. It’s such a pleasure to welcome you to Omashu Academy. My name is Zhu-Li and I’m the headmaster here. I see you’ve met Kya already so you should be all set to go.” Zhu Li smiled warmly at Bato and Korra, before turning to Tonraq. “Mr. Waters, you’re free to stay here for dinner if you’d like or you can say your goodbyes now and be on your way.”

Before her dad could answer, Korra cut in. “Eh, I don’t know if my dad would really want to eat in a dining hall full of teenage girls when he could be on his way home and relaxing in his favorite chair in the living room even sooner.” She quipped, staring pointedly between her dad and Bato, who had started picking his nose and examing the boogers on his fingers . Tonraq chuckled, getting the message loud and clear.

“Thank you, Headmaster Zhu Li, but I think me and Bato here are gonna start the long drive home. I don’t know if I’ll be able to contain him in a cafeteria full of girls, he is barely manageable as is.”

At that, Bato howled and began beating his chest, causing Korra to blush and slap her face in embarrassment again.

“Very well then, it was a pleasure meeting you”, Zhu Li smiled and then turned to P’Li, “make sure you print out Korra’s class schedule and give her the rule book, so she has time to read over them before classes on Monday. And Korra, you probably already know this but every Wednesday and Friday we have you scheduled to check in with our school psychologist to gauge your progress and see how you’re doing. It’s not a big deal, just making sure that you’re okay and doing well enough to keep up with the rigors of the school, okay?”

Korra nodded and gave a small smile. She knew what the sessions were really for, but she didn’t want to think about that right now.

“Alright well I guess that’s my cue”, Tonraq said and then hesitated. He turned to Korra and enveloped her in a big hug, while Korra tried unsuccessfully to choke down the small sobs that racked through her body. This would be her first time without her family, and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to adjust, or if she even wanted to leave them for that matter. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe she could call the whole thing off and she and her dad and Bato could go back to Southern California, back to Los Angeles where she belonged. Go to a regular public high school and have a regular high school experience. But then she thought about her mother, and about how Korra graduating from her alma mater would be a dream come true for her, and Korra knew then that she wanted nothing more than to make her mother happy.

With her mind made up, she reluctantly pulled away from Tonraq and wiped her eyes, feeling even more determined than before. Tonraq noticed the look in her eyes and smiled softly.

“You look just like your mother Korra. We’re so proud of you. She’s so proud of you. I can feel it here”, he stated, placing his palm flat over his heart and thumping it twice.

Korra smiled. “I love you Dad. I’ll miss you so much.”

“I’ll miss you too sweetie”

Bato yawned loudly, causing Korra to roll her eyes.

“Heyyyyy cmon now, I’ll miss Korra too daddy but we gotta get this show on the road! I have a play date with Julia down the street at 2 pm sharp tomorrow and a knight needs his beauty sleep! Let’s GOOO! Bye Korra, we’ll see you for winter break!”, Bato yelled before promptly pulling their Dad out of the office. Everyone laughed while Korra groaned in embarrassment for the 5th time that day.

“He’s a real character.”, Kya chuckled, getting Korra’s attention.

Korra smiled and shook her head. “Yup, this is Bato’s world and we’re all apparently just living in it…barely.”

Kya beamed at Korra and then looped their arms together.

“Well then my fair maiden, on with the tour!”

Korra laughed and allowed herself to be pulled out the door that lead to the rest of the academy.

Yea, she thought, she just might really like it here.

__________________________________________________________

“So this here is the library where, of course all the books are. And then over to the right is the science block, as you can see by all the weird, sciencey molecules and shit painted all over it. It looks like a test tube threw up all over it, ew I fuckin’ hate that block. Then over here you have my favorite block, the music, film, arts block where Mr Feu teaches film and is in charge of the school band, you’re gonna loooove Mr Feu, he’s so hot and word on the street is that he’s single, _ugh_ what I wouldn’t give to climb that man like a tree..” Kya droned on.

Korra tried her hardest to keep up and pay attention, but truth be told she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to climb into a bed and knockout until dinner. Kya was a great tour guide, and turned out to have a great sense of humor and cursed like a sailor, something that Korra loved. She noticed how different she was in front of adults and was amazed at how quickly her sweet, innocent demeanor dropped as soon as adults were out of earshot. Korra had a feeling that they were gonna get along just fine. Eventually, Kya caught on to Korra’s lack of enthusiasm when she turned around from an animated explanation of the purpose of a certain water fountain and saw Korra stifle a yawn.

“Oh my fuckin God, how fuckin _rude_ of me! You must be exhausted, anyone would be after an eight hour drive from LA! Here, let me show you to your dorm, we can finish this shit later. Actually, I think we have pretty much the same schedule so you might be okay just following me around on Monday. Come on!”

Korra smiled gratefully as Kya dragged her to the year 11 housing block and walked her up the stairs to their shared dorm room. Kya typed in their code and scanned her ID, then pushed the door open.

Korra was happy to find all her luggage piled neatly on her side of the room, with her bed already made.

“Okay, so I have piano lessons in like 20 minutes, “ Kya rolled her eyes, “ Definitely not my choice, I’d much rather play bass or some shit but colleges want _classy, sophisticated women_ or whatever the fuck, so my dad insisted I start playing piano. Like I’m gonna finger some keys and woo my way into an ivy league with the piano or something. Although depending on what kind of fingering it is, I might not mind.” Kya winked with an evil glint in her eye. Korra balked. Did she just…? Is she saying…?

Kya threw her head back and laughed loudly.

“I’m fucking with you Korra, oh my God you should’ve seen your face. I’m like 100 % straight but you’re so gullible, I couldn’t resist. You’re a virgin aren’t you, you’re so damn adorable!”, Kya pinched her right cheek.

Korra blushed a deep red, but before she could respond, Kya whirled around and exited the room.

“I’ll be back in an hour and half to get you for dinner. Make sure you get some rest!”, and with that she was gone.

Korra stood in the middle of the room for a second, a bit dazed and confused.

She shook her slightly and then started to unpack her stuff. She didn’t bring much clothes since the school required a uniform and didn’t really allow students to dress outside of that, so it only took her 30 minutes to set up her desk and personalize her area. She perched her stuffed polar bear dog named Naga on her bed and then adjusted the framed picture of her mother on her desk, the one she took the day before the incident. She was laughing at some joke Dad had just told and Korra was able to capture the moment perfectly. Her eyes were big, bright, and blue. Her teeth pearly white, her hair long and brown and shining. Korra’s mom was the most beautiful woman Korra had ever seen, and she cherished this last captured moment of pure happiness more than anything else in the world. She laid down in her bed and stared out the window, when a flurry of movement caught her eye. She sat up and looked again, now seeing that the movement belonged to a tall, elegant girl with shining, wavy black hair clipped back in a low, bouncy, full ponytail walking away from her and towards the science block.

Korra stared for a moment, entranced before her phone went off and shook her out of her spell. She opened it to find that her dad had sent her a pic of him playing dead and Bato fake-stabbing him.

Korra chuckled and then sighed. She laid back down in the bed and closed her eyes, thinking of her family and drifting off into an easy sleep.

________________________________________________________

She awoke to the feeling of someone gently shaking her awake, and opened her eyes to find Kya smiling down at her.

“Wake up sleepyhead. It’s dinner time!”

She sat up and stretched her arms, then slipped on her sandals and followed Kya out the room and to the dining hall.

“I’m gonna introduce you to some of my friends. You’re gonna love them, especially Jinora! She’s sweet and quiet, just like you.”, Kya beamed at her.

Korra smirked at the statement. She wouldn’t necessarily consider herself quiet, and especially not sweet, but she let Kya talk. Maybe she was quiet and sweet. Sometimes it’s hard to see yourself how you truly are so you have to take others’ word for it.

They followed the group of girls into the dining hall and Kya grabbed Korra’s hand so that she wouldn’t be swept up and lost in the crowd. She was led to a table in the year 11 eating section where three other girls sat.

“Jinora, Opal, Jessica! This is my new roommate Korra! Isn’t she gorgeous?! She’s from LA. She could be a model!” Kya gushed, causing Korra to blush and duck her head.

“You are really pretty but I’m so sorry that you got stuck with Kya, cuz she’s literally not gonna shut up about it now, especially if she sees it riles you up so easily”, the girl with pale skin and medium length brown hair cut in a sort of bob spoke up. She stuck her hand out to Korra and smiled, “Hi I’m Jinora, and these two to my left are Opal and Jessica.”, she stated gesturing to a green-eyed girl with brown skin and short black hair and then another girl who was a shade or two darker with brown eyes and curly medium length black hair. The green-eyed girl smiled and introduced herself as Opal, leaving Korra to guess that the last girl was Jessica, who looked up at her and gave a friendly smile.

They all settled into easy conversation after that, with the girls asking Korra questions about her age and background.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how is it that you’re 17 but you’re with the year 11’s? Were you held back or something?” Kya asked.

“ _Kya_ ”, Jinora snapped and shot her a glare.

Korra gave a tense smile. She didn’t like to talk about the real reason that she was slightly older than everyone else in her grade, but luckily she already had a well-rehearsed lie.

“It’s okay, honestly. What happened was my birthday is super late in the year and my dad was supposed to sign me up a year earlier so that I would be the same age as everyone in my grade, but he missed the deadline so I had to wait for the next year before starting school.” She finished with a practiced smile.

They all say “ooohhh” in unison before thankfully moving on to the next topic, and Korra breathes a small sigh of relief. She had learned the lie so well that she sometimes can believe it to be true.

Korra is able to follow the conversation easily, adding her own thoughts in every now and then and even making a joke or two. The girls are in the middle of explaining the dinner system to her when suddenly Korra sees something in the corner of her eye and turns to look towards the entrance of the dining hall.

Time sees to slow as she sees the same tall, elegant lady from earlier strut confidently into the hall. Her hair is loose now, and cascades down her back in shiny, black waves, with a blue pin holding it back on one side and a curl hanging loose. She’s wearing a black pencil skirt with black stockings and black heels that really show off her calves. Tucked into the skirt is a dark red button-down business shirt and she has on a red and black blazer over it.

Korra can’t seem to stop staring, but just as the woman is about to turn to her destination, she seems to sense Korra staring and looks up to catch her eye. Korra is momentarily stunned by how bright and beautiful her jade-green eyes are, and looks down with a blush, hoping the woman didn’t catch her staring.

Her new friends at the table notice where her line of vision was and they all sigh wistfully.

“Ahhhhhh yes Korra, isn’t she so beautiful!?” Opal swoons, “That’s Miss Sato, the biology teaching assistant.”

Korra’s eyes widen in shock. “You mean she’s not a student!? But she looks so…”

“Young?”, Jinora offers.

“Hot?”, Kya smirks.

Korra blushes and simply nods.

“No Miss Sato isn’t a student,” Jessica chimes in, “but she isn’t really a teacher either. We call her a teaching assistant because she’s basically been in charge of biology since Ms. Katara damn near retired and decided to travel the world with her husband. But until then, Miss Sato’s been filling in, and she does it for free because she loves it and the school allows it because her dad donates so much money. Her dad is Hiroshi Sato,” Korra’s eyes almost pop out of her head at that, “yup you heard right. _Thee_ Hiroshi Sato, founder of the SatoMobile and CEO of Future Industries. Miss Sato’s set to inherit a billion-dollar company, but for some reason she’d rather stay here and teach us about plant anatomy and powerhouses and shit. I’ll never understand it. ” Jessica finishes with a sigh.

Korra looks up again to search for the black-haired woman and finds her in the teacher’s eating section, chatting amicably with Headmaster Zhu Li, P’Li, and a short, brown skin man with bouncy black hair.

Korra looks back down at the table and smiles.

“I guess she must really like teaching?”, Korra ventures.

They all nod in agreement and then switch to another subject while Korra drowns out the conversation and gets caught up in a daydream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! Not the entire story of course, just the first chapter lol! We still got a looooong way to go before this story is over, and even then, is a story ever really over?? I'm not sure if this will even get any attention but I'm so glad I can do this and finally get it out of my system. Tryna make this a one and done type of thing but just planning out this fan fic has given me so much release, and now I have a bunch of other story ideas I want to get out, idk I might make this a little side hobby that I do lol


	2. Outta My Mind-Monsune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra gets settled into Omashu Academy and is officially introduced to Miss Sato, who she learns is both her biology teacher and the resident assistant for the year 11 housing block.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Don't even know you but I can't get you outta my mind~

~Korra~

Korra leans back and pats her stomach, completely satisfied with the quality of her meal. ‘Thank God this school has amazing food _and_ it’s buffet-style serving. Endless amount of the good stuff’, she thought happily to herself. She doesn’t know if she’d be able to survive if the food was bad. She’s in the middle of daydreaming about what they might be serving for breakfast tomorrow when she looks up and catches Kya smirking at her. Kya opens her mouth and Korra braces herself for whatever smart-ass comment she’s sure Kya’s gonna toss her way when suddenly a static noise fills the air and they hear the microphone being tapped a few times to get everyone’s attention.

Korra smirks back at Kya, who frowns and then sticks her tongue out at Korra then lets out a small chuckle and turns her attention to the stage at the center of the room.

“Ladies, ladies can I have your attention please. Everyone please settle down. Robin they can hear your laugh all the way in Canada, please tone it down a notch”, Headmaster Zhu Li says into the microphone, the last part of her sentence causing an uproar of giggles and an eye roll from the girl she called out.

Headmaster Zhu Li bites back a laugh before continuing, “Welcome back from summer break ladies! Omashu is eager to get the school year started and see you all excel. We want to give a warm welcome to our new year nines,” at this the year 9 section starts clapping and cheering, “yes, yes we’re all happy to have you here on the big kid side of campus! Now as you all know…” Zhu Li continues, but Korra has stopped paying attention at this point.

Her eyes wander over to the teacher section, where she spots Miss Sato sitting with one leg draped over the other, her foot bouncing back and forth. Korra takes the time to get a really good look at her now. Her porcelain skin looks soft and inviting, a striking contrast against her dark red and black outfit. Korra’s eyes drift up from her legs to her chest to her lips, which are painted perfectly in a deep red shade and slightly parted as she pays attention to the announcement. Korra bites her bottom lip feeling herself start to get hot and squirms in her seat. Confused, she quickly looks down at the table and is still trying to figure out why she reacted that way when she suddenly hears her name being called in the microphone and looks back up. To her complete shock, everyone in the dining hall is now looking at her and she glances around her table in confusion. Jinora laughs at her confused expression. “Headmaster Zhu Li just called you up to the stage, silly. Go!”

Korra shakily stands up and makes her way to the center of the room, feeling extremely out of place wearing her shorts, converse, and oversized t shirt in a sea full of plaid skirts, stockings, and uniform shirts. She silently curses herself for not at least putting on pants before coming down to dinner.

Zhu Li helps her onto the stage with a warm smile on her face.

“Students of Omashu, this is Korra waters, and I’d love your help in extending her a warm Omashu-style welcome. Band, hit it!”

Before Korra has a chance to process everything, the doors to the dining hall swing open and in marches the school band, blasting the school anthem from their instruments with the color guard following close behind them, waving their flags and doing flips and cartwheels.

Korra feels her mouth drop open and is extremely embarrassed by all the unnecessary attention she’s getting. She looks over at the teacher’s section and to her horror they’re all laughing. All except Miss Sato, who’s eyes are sparkling with laughter, but she has the decency to hold it back and instead shoots her an apologetic smile. Korra feels her face burning and is sure that she’s gonna die any second now, when _finally_ the song comes to an end and the trombone player gives one last, big blow. The hall erupts into whoops and hollers as the band kids file out the hall to put their instruments away. Korra sees a short, petite girl with long black hair pushed away from her hair face with a headband make her way to the stage. Zhu Li is at her side when the girl climbs her way up the stage steps and makes her way to Korra. The girl offers her a stiff smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes and holds out her hand for a handshake.

“Korra, this is Azula, President of the Student body council. If you have any questions or concerns about how the academy works but don’t want to go to an adult, please direct them to her. She’d be more than willing to help you out.” Zhu Li says.

Azula still has that stiff smile on her face and Korra feels her grip tighten slightly on her hand before she lets her hand go and says in a chirpy voice, “Yes any questions you have, send them my way! I’m more than happy to be of assistance to you”. For some reason, Korra doesn’t really believe her.

Before Korra can offer a response, Azula whips around and bounces off stage to a table in the year 12 section. ‘Well she seems lovely’, Korra thought sarcastically. She had dealt with her fair share of mean girls in the past but at least those didn’t have a position of power. Azula seemingly disliking her despite never having spoken a word to her _and_ being the literal president of the entire student body made Korra’s skin crawl. ‘Maybe she’s just tired Korra, it’s been a long day’, she thinks to herself.

She waits for Zhu Li to finish introducing her, gives a short wave and smile to the crowd and then dashes back to her table, her face hot and avoiding eye contact. The girls are nearly falling out of their seats with laughter when she plops back down in her seat, places her head on the table under her arms and groans.

“What the hell is so funny?” she snaps at them, causing them to laugh even louder.

“Ohhh man, you should’ve seen your face when the band marched in, you looked like you were gonna DIE!” Kya holds her stomach while tears are streaming down her face.

“They do something like this every year to welcome the new year 9s, but they usually don’t let in older years, so you were kind of a special event and they wanted to give you an _extra_ warm welcome. The band and color guard had been planning this for like, a week. Geez Korra, didn’t Kya warn you?” Jessica struggles to get out past her laugh.

Korra’s head snaps up and she glares in Kya’s direction. “I got no such warning.I would have changed my outfit!”

“Oh damn, I could have sworn I had mentioned it! Oops. Besides, you look hot, now the whole school got to see those sexy ass legs.” Kya shrugs her shoulders with a sly grin on her face.

Korra wrinkles her nose at Kya and flicks her off. Jinora laughs and shakes her head. “Cmon guys, let’s hurry up and go to the dorms before it gets crowded. We have to introduce Korra to Miss Sato before the living area gets crowded, you guys know how popular she is.” Jinora rolls her eyes.

Korra blinks slowly as she processes what Jinora had just said. “Wait, why do I need to be introduced to Miss Sato right now? I don’t have biology until tomorrow.”

“Damn it, Kya. Have you told her _anything_? Miss Sato is the resident assistant for our year. She’s who we go to if we have questions or need advice, or tampons, or have boy problems, all that jazz. She specifically told _Kya_ to bring you to her after dinner. ” Opal says in mock irritation. Korra’s heart skips a beat. 

“Hey hey hey, I was going to but she was asleep, and she’s so _cute_ when she’s sleeping, I didn’t wanna wake her up.” Kya pouts

“Bullshit Kya, I’m starting to think you have it out for me.” Korra frowns and jokingly pokes Kya in her shoulder.

“Shit, I’ve been caught! Abort mission, I repeat, Abort mission!” Kya yells into her cellphone and laughs. “Whatevs, sexy legs, cmon let’s go! Everyone’s leaving already!”

Korra allows herself to be dragged out of the dining hall and tries her hardest to ignore the sudden lump of nervousness in the back of her throat. Is she afraid to meet Miss Sato? Why? She’s just a teacher here and now apparently her RA. She really shouldn’t nervous about meeting her, plus she seems really nice. She’s definitely very pretty. Like really, _really_ pretty. Maybe that’s why Korra is so afraid. Afraid that she won’t measure up. ‘That’s ridiculous, what does it matter, she’s my teacher. I can look like a toad and she’d still have to be nice to me, it doesn’t matter if I don’t measure up.’ Korra thinks indignantly to herself. ‘But still…I do want her to like me.’ Korra frowns at this and has been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she doesn’t even notice they had arrived to the year 11 living area. She looks around and spots Miss Sato talking to a group of girls next to the fireplace. Her heartbeat speeds up and she curses silently at it, screaming for it to calm the fuck down.

“Miss Sato”, Kya yells, waving the teacher over “Miss Sato, look who I brought to you! In one piece of course, as promised.” Kya turns around and winks at Korra, who rolls her eyes.

Miss Sato looks to them and smiles, her pearly white teeth and bright green eyes lighting up a fire deep in the pit of Korra’s stomach. She gets up and brushes herself off, excusing herself from the group of girls and walking towards them. Korra feels a throb in her lower region watching Miss Sato walk towards her in those heels and inwardly screams at herself. ‘What the hell is wrong with me’.

Suddenly Miss Sato is in front of her and is smiling and then her lips are moving and she’s reaching her hand out. Korra looks down at her hand and stares, realizing that she has no idea what Miss Sato had said.

“Uh…I’m so sorry. What did you just say?” Korra stutters as she looks back up into those impossibly brilliant jade-green eyes.

Miss Sato laughs, a light, airy, beautiful sound that Korra believes she can spend the rest of her life hearing and still never get tired of it.

“I said ‘Hello Korra. My name is Miss Sato and it’s nice to finally meet you.’ I’ll be your RA and biology teacher for the year.” She repeats kindly.

Korra returns her handshake and swears that she can feel electricity pulsing through her hand. She quickly pulls her hand back, hoping Miss Sato didn’t notice how sweaty it was.

“It’s really nice to meet you too, Miss Sato I look forward to having you as a teacher this year although I wanna let you know now that I’m horrible at biology so you really have your work set out for you and also you’re really pretty and also thank you for not laughing at me on the stage earlier and” Korra stops blabbering suddenly as she realizes what she just said and blushes a deep red. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Kya leaning forward with her hands on her knees, dying from laughter, while Jinora, Opal, and Jessica cover their hands with their mouths, trying not to laugh.

“Oh my God…oh my goodness I’m so sorry, I am so so sorry.” Korra mumbles, refusing to look up at Miss Sato’s face.

Thankfully, Miss Sato laughs and to Korra’s surprise takes her arm gently and pulls her to the side, just outside the door to the living area. Miss Sato shoots a fake glare at Kya on her way out, who raises her hands up defensively with a big,stupid grin on her face.

“Hey, it’s okay. I get it, it’s your first day and your nervous.” Miss Sato says to Korra gently. Korra looks up and sees the woman smiling kindly at her.

“Also, thank you, you’re pretty too”, Miss Sato winks at her teasingly and Korra feels her face heat up again, knowing that it’s probably going to melt off at this rate.

“But on a more serious note Korra, I’m really happy to have you here and if you ever need anything, don’t feel afraid to reach out to me okay? I’ll be right down the hall all night long, the room with my name on it. Headmaster Zhu Li told me bits and pieces of what you’ve been through,” Korra shifts uncomfortably, “but Korra, please know I won’t force you to talk about anything you don’t want to talk about okay?”

Korra nods and then smiles. ‘See’, she thought to herself ‘absolutely nothing to worry about. She’s a sweetheart.’

“Thank you, Miss Sato. I meant what I said about biology though, I’m basically hopeless.”

Miss Sato purses her lips and shakes her head. “Not if I have anything to do about it. We’re gonna work extra hard. By the end of the year you’ll be able to teach the class yourself.”

Korra giggled.

“Okay, we’ll see. I’m gonna go to my room now and finish getting settled in.”

“Oh. You’re not gonna stay for game night?” Miss Sato says.

Korra is sure she must be imagining things, but it almost sounds as if Miss Sato is…disappointed?

Korra hesitates but then shook her head. She knows that if she stays any longer, she’ll probably say something else really embarrassing, plus she’s not too fond of the effect that Miss Sato seems to have on her. She doesn’t like not being in control of herself. She has to figure out what’s happening so she can control it before spending any more time with this beautiful woman. See, thoughts like that. Why is she calling her teacher beautiful? This is so weird.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna log out for the rest of the day, I’m exhausted. 8 hour road trip with no stops and all.” Korra smiles softly.

“Ahhh okay, I understand,” Miss Sato nods, “Well, I’ll see you in class tomorrow Korra. 6th period right?”

Korra nods but then frowns and shakes her head. “Wait no! I mean, I’m not sure, I haven’t even seen my schedule yet. How did you know?”

Miss Sato grins mysteriously as she walks back into the living area. “I make it a point to know all my students. Goodnight Korra.” And then she disappears into the living area.

“Goodnight”, Korra whispers under her breath and then turns and practically bolts up the stairs and to her room.

She gets ready for bed in a blur and hurriedly climbs under the sheets. The place on her arm where Miss Sato touched her stills feels hot and tingly and she feels herself blushing again, thinking about how she called her pretty on accident. She then frowns suddenly, assessing her reactions. Why is she so excited about this woman? What is this? Is it a crush? ‘Psssshh no! I don’t like girls in that way. At least I never had before. Maybe I do now? But I’ve liked boys and it’s never been like this, this is more…intense. Maybe I really look up to her or want her as a role model? Yea that has to be it. I want to be like her. And she is really pretty, she doesn’t have to like girls to see that their pretty. Other girls had even called Korra pretty. Kya had literally been calling her pretty since they met earlier today, but she was 100% straight. So this being a crush was out of the question. It was more like…a deep admiration. Yea, that’s what this was.’ Korra sighed contentedly and smiled, burying her face into her pillow. Her last thought before drifting off into a peaceful sleep was of jade-green eyes and a laugh so beautiful it could make a grown man cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around if you’re still here! I plan on trying to upload at least one chapter a week, two if I have room in my schedule! I had a project due this week so I couldn’t upload like I wanted to  but I’ll be free for two weeks before online classes start so I’ll have a lot of time to work on this story!


	3. Stranger Feelings-Dreamgirl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra struggles with her feelings for Miss Sato while also trying to stay afloat in biology.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~See us walking through my dreams at night~

~Korra~

Korra woke up suddenly, gasping and drenched in sweat. She rested on her elbows and checked the time on her phone. _7:55 am;_ She had woken up 15 minutes before her alarm had gone off. Sighing, she placed her phone back on the nightstand and turned over, determined to enjoy the last 15 minutes of sleep when she was stopped by a wet, gushy feeling between her legs. She inwardly groaned and rolled back on her back; she wasn’t due to start her period for another three days, but sometimes it came early when she was under a lot of stress. She didn’t feel particularly stressed out, but her body knew itself more than she did.

She glanced over to Kya’s side of the room and saw that her bed was empty. Lifting herself off the mattress, she figured it was probably best that Kya wasn’t here so that she could deal with the blood-stained sheets privately. She turned around to assess the damage her period had done this month, but to her surprise, there was no blood on the sheets. She tilted her head, confused and leaned down to sniff the sheets. ‘I know I didn’t pee on myself, what the hell’, she thought, but the liquid on the sheets didn’t have a scent to it, and it was thicker than pee, almost… _creamy_.

“oh my God…oh my _GOD_!” Korra gasps, covering her mouth in horror as her dream from last night comes flashing back to her. Slim, elegant fingers brushing against her neck, long legs wrapping tight around her waist, jade-green eyes begging Korra to drown in them…she had had a wet dream about Miss Sato!

Korra squeaked and quickly covered the wet spot then ran to the bathroom attached to the dorm, quickly stripping off her pajamas and turning the shower on to the coldest settings, trying her hardest to wash last night’s sins down the drain.

When she finally felt herself calm down, she turned the hot water on and began washing her hair. The more she thinks about everything, the angrier she gets with herself. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t even been here a full 24 hours and she was already losing it. She came to Omashu academy with the sole purpose of starting over and getting control over her life again, only for her body to betray her like this. Why was this happening? She knew it wasn’t a crush, but if it wasn’t that, then what was it?

For a brief moment, Korra considered just allowing herself to feel this way without questioning it, but she quickly pushed the thought to the back of her head. She could control this; she was stronger than whatever this was. Korra hated how drawn she was to this woman that she had known for less than 24 hours; it couldn’t possibly be natural, especially when said woman was _literally_ her teacher.

As she finishes up her shower, she hears Kya come into the bedroom.

‘Shit’, Korra thinks. She had forgotten to bring her school clothes into the bathroom in her rush to shower. 

“Korra? Are you in the bathroom? It looks like a tornado ran through your side of the room!” Kya yells from their dorm.

Korra panicks, hoping Kya doesn’t decide to move the sheets, even though realistically the wet spot should be dry by now.

“DON’T TOUCH THE BED!” Korra yells but grimaces, and then adds, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, just I…I lost my lucky earrings and I don’t want them to fall in the cracks.” She smacks her head and groans quietly; that was such a horrible, obvious lie.

To her relief, Kya just laughs. “Alright alright prissy pants, I won’t touch your shit!”

Korra quickly rinses the soap off her body and then wraps a towel around herself and another around her wet hair. She scoops up her pajamas and heads back into the room.

“Daaaaammnnn” Kya wolf whistles at her. Korra just rolls her eyes and continues on to her closet to pick out her school clothes.

“Are you sure you’re 100% straight Kya?” Korra smirks at her.

Kya grins and winks at her, “I thought so but now I might have to jump the fence. Are _you_ 100 % straight?” Korra thinks back to her dream last night and the events that took place this morning and clenches her jaw.

“Yes Kya, I am” she replies a bit harshly.

Kya frowns and then goes to touch Korra’s shoulder. “Hey, I know sometimes I can play a bit too much, but I would hate to make you feel uncomfortable. Do you want me to stop playing with you so much?” Kya asks sincerely. Korra is suddenly filled with guilt at the look on Kya’s face and wraps her arms around the girl apologetically. “No no Kya, you’re perfectly fine. I love your sense of humor; you’ve made me feel like I fit right int here. I just…I had a bad dream last night and I woke up and my period started and I ruined my sheets which is the real reason I didn’t want you to touch them and I’m cramping and I’m hangry so I just took that out on you but you didn’t deserve that, I’m sorry.” Korra finishes quietly as she releases Kya from her grip.

She looks up to find Kya grinning in relief. “Okay good, cuz I really didn’t want to have tone myself down in my own room. Wheeww. And you started your period? I can show you how to use the washing machine later. So _that_ must be why you were whimpering this morning.” Korra’s face goes pale.

“I was doing **_what_**?”

Kya burst out laughing and nods, “Oh yeah, it kinda woke me up. I figured you were either having a bad dream or a really, _really_ , good dream,” Kya winks at her, “I had to be up early for tennis practice anyway so don’t feel bad!”

Korra just nods her head in embarrassment. She could _not_ let whatever this was have this much control over her.

“Alright well I’m gonna shower really quick but then I gotta make a phone call, so you can go ahead and go down to breakfast without me okay?” Kya says as she heads into the bathroom. Korra nods her heads and then goes back to putting her clothes on.

She dries off and then pats herself down with cocoa butter, puts on deodorant, throws on her bra, panties, thigh high tights, and school uniform. She wrinkles her nose in distaste at the uniform. It’s a black and grey plaid skirt that stops right above her knees with a white, long sleeved collared uniform shirt that has the school mascot on it. ‘A dragon, so original’, she thinks to herself. She absolutely hates stockings and couldn’t bring herself to buy them like the school required her to do, so she instead brought thigh high black tights and prays that she’ll get away with it. She throws on her black combat boots and gives herself a once over in the bedroom mirror before shrugging. She looked ridiculous, but it’s not like there were any boys here to impress. ‘Well…there was Miss-, “ _Nope!”,_ she said out loud, cutting herself off mid-thought.

“What was that? Did you say something?” Kya calls from the shower.

“Oh! Uh… I said I’m gonna come in to brush my teeth and do my hair really quickly, is that okay?” Korra responds

“Yea, sure. Knock yourself out.”

Korra quickly brushes her teeth and braids her hair in her signature two messy dutch braids, puts on a little bit of lipgloss and her lucky earrings, spritz herself with perfume and then heads out. She’s putting her books in her backpack and going over her schedule when Kya walks out the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and brushing her teeth.

“Hey, you said you were cramping right? You should go see if Miss Sato has aspirin or Tylenol, the school doesn’t allow us to have our own pills.” Kya says.

Korra stiffens, “No!”, she says a little too quickly, causing Kya to look at her strangely. “I mean, it’s so early, I don’t wanna bother her. I’ll just ride them out.”

Kya rolls her eyes and adjusts her towel. “Okay weirdo, but you really shouldn’t be scared about going to Miss Sato about these things, it’s literally her job.”

Korra smiles softly. “I know, but I’m fine right now. I’ll probably just go to the nurse later.”

Kya looks at her for a second before shrugging. “Whatevs dork. Hurry up and go down, I’ll see you in a bit.”

Korra smiles and throws her backpack over her shoulder, telling Kya to hurry up as she leaves the room. As she bounces down the stairs, her eyes glance down the hall to Miss Sato’s room. She wonders if she should stop and say good morning before she shakes her head and continues walking to the dining hall. She didn’t think she was ready to face her just yet after last night’s dream.

* * *

Korra gets to the dining hall and serves herself a huge helping of eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit before scanning the hall and spotting Jinora and Jessica at a table in the year 11 section. They see her at the same time and wave her over.

“Where’s Opal?” Korra asks as she settles down and starts digging in.

“Oh, she started her period this morning and had really bad cramps so she decided to skip breakfast.” Jinora explains.

“I’m surprised you haven’t started yet Jin, you guys are usually in sync since you’ve been living together so long.” Jessica remarks.

“I usually start a couple days after her weirdo, stay out of our panties.” Jinora says, sticking her tongue out at Jessica, who laughs and punches her shoulder playfully.

Korra laughs too, “So you’ve been living with Opal for a while? How does the roommate system work here exactly?” she asks.

“Me and Opal have been roommates since we both started school here in year 6 on the other side of campus. Once you’re set up with someone, you’re roommates until you guys both graduate or until one drops out or leaves for whatever reason, but that rarely happens. They put a lot of care into pairing people too, making sure they’re compatible and have the same interests or similar personalities, things like that.”

Korra nods at this, but then frowns, thinking. “Wait Kya had a roommate right? What happened to her? Or was Kya new here too?”

Jessica and Jinora exchange a glance before Jinora shakes her head and turns back to Korra. “If you want to learn about Lin, you’re gonna have to ask Kya yourself. But not now, it’s too soon.” Jinora says.

Korra nods her head understandingly and resumes eating. They slide back into easy conversation, with them comparing their schedules when Kya joins them, plopping down next to Korra with a sigh.

“Only coffee again Kya”, Jinora teases her.

“Yes bitch, mind your business. Where’s Opal?” Kya asks.

“Lady problems” Jessica responds before giving Kya her apple and forcing her to take a bite. Korra smiles at the exchange. She’s really grateful to have found such a supportive, loving group of friends so soon. It’s more than what she could have hoped for. Kya turns to her and smirks, looking at her plate full of food.

“Jesus Korra, that’s literally enough food to feed a barn. Are you really going to eat all that? How do stay so in shape, I mean you have a six pack. I would _kill_ for a 2 pack” Kya whines.

Korra laughs and eats a piece of fruit. “I don’t know really. It’s mostly a fast metabolism, but I do workout sometimes. I’ve always played sports too.”

Kya grumbled about life being unfair while Jessica laughed, “What kind of sports do you play Korra?”, she asks.

“Primarily volleyball, I love volleyball, but I’m willing to play almost anything except golf.”

“Oh cool, my roommate Tuyen plays volleyball. Are you gonna sign up for tryouts?” Jessica asks.

Korra shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t think so, I don’t…I might not be good enough for the school team. You guys have won 1st place at the championships for the past 12 years, both the JV _and_ Varsity teams. That’s a record I would hate to break.”

“Oh my God, shut the hell up!” Kya rolled her eyes at Korra, “With those legs? And those arms? You’re probably a fuckin beast on the court, I hate humble assholes like you!”

Korra laughed, “Okay okay fine, I’m not bad but still…”

“You should still tryout Korra. Even if you don’t make it, Coach Kurvira will take note of your effort and go a little easier on you during PE, however if you _do_ make it, you’ll have PE as a free period and can do whatever you want.” Jessica cut in.

Korra considered this. PE was her last period anyways, so if she made the team, she’d be able to end classes early. She smiled, “Okay I’ll think about it.”

They switch to discussing their schedules and Korra discovers that she has math first with Jinora, Creative Arts with Kya and Opal, and English and Spanish with Jessica. She realizes that none of them have biology the same period as her, which means that she’ll be alone with Miss Sato. No distractions to distract her from her distraction. This makes her nervous, but she pushes it to the back of her mind and refocuses on the girls in front of her.

The bell rings and she gets up and starts heading to math with Jinora, who is telling her about the math teacher, Professor Blackstone.

“Now he may seem a little wacky, because he is, but he means well, and he teaches math in a way that will make you fall in love with it.”

Korra smiles at this. She had always liked math, has always been good at it and found herself excited to see how Professor Blackstone teaches. She likes things that have straight forward answers once you break it all down, and very few unsolvable problems. It made her feel in control.

After an hour of Professor Blackstone having them weigh random items around the room (including himself) and postulate the velocity it would take to launch them into space from a certain height, the bell rang and Korra met Jessica in the hallway, then headed to English.

English is somehow even more interesting than math, with Professor Zaheer having them meditate for 10 minutes before he begins analyzing old poems and sacred texts by some man named Guru Laghima, who Professor Zaheer claims had learned the art of flying. After class, he pulls her to the side and gives her a worksheet with yoga positions that are meant to relieve stress and anxiety. “You might sometimes feel alone my child, but please know that people are here for you.” Korra nods, confused but takes the paper anyway, thanking him. He’s a bit wacky like Professor Blackstone, but in a more…spiritual way, and Korra can tell he has a kind heart with good intentions.

“You know he’s married to P’Li right?” Jessicas says as Korra exits the classroom.

“What? The forehead eye tattoo lady?!” Korra blurts out, but then covers her mouth quickly and glances back, hoping the teacher didn’t hear her. Jessica giggles and nods. Korra is shocked but figures it makes sense; only someone as spiritual as Zaheer would fall in love with a lady that has an eye tattooed on her forehead.

Kya and Opal come up from behind her, loop their arms through hers, and drag her to the creative arts block, where they all have class with Mr. Feu.

“Oh my God Korra he’s sooooo hot. Just wait and see, you’re gonna love him!” Kya squeals.

“Kya, you do know that Mr. Feu is like…100% gay right?” Opal smirks

“Oh shut up Opal, let me have this. I don’t care if he’s gay or straight, it’s not like anything would ever happen since I’m a student, plus what’s the harm in looking? We rarely get any man eye candy here and this is my first class with a hot male teacher, so I’m gonna enjoy IT!” Kya flicks Opal off.

Korra laughs at this. She’s not all that excited about seeing Mr. Feu. He might actually even be attractive, but nobody could hold a candle to her Miss Sato. Korra shakes her head. _Her_ Miss Sato? Did she just claim ownership over her teacher? She’s pulled out of her thoughts as she’s ushered into the classroom and introduced to Mr. Feu. He smiles warmly at her and gives her a firm handshake, stating that he’s honored to have her in his classroom this year.

“Now Korra,I heard that you play the saxophone and are very talented with a camera? I can’t wait to see how we put those talents to use this year. I’m eager to work with you.” Mr. Feu says sincerely. Korra blushes and thanks him. She inwardly yells at her dad for obviously telling him this stuff about her. She hasn’t played the saxophone since she was 13 and hasn’t picked up a camera since the incident; she might not be as good as she once was. She would have to send a heavily worded text to Tonraq later. 

After creative arts is a 15 minute break, and Korra uses this time to go to the restroom. She finds that she actually has started her period, which fills her with relief. That would probably explain the wet spot in her bed this morning, discharge before the actual bleeding or something, she wasn’t sure how everything worked down there. However, this doesn’t really explain the dream, which still frustrates her. She knocks on the stall next to her.

“Opal do you have an extra pad on you? I started my period” Korra whispers through the stall door.

“Yea, of course. I’ll slide it under the door.”

After her break, she heads to Spanish with Professor Girasol, where she meets Jessica and her roommate, Tuyen. Jessica tells Tuyen how Korra is thinking about trying out for the volleyball team and Tuyen grins eagerly, telling her to definitely try out. Korra smiles and again, says that she’ll consider it.

After Spanish is lunch, which Korra suddenly realizes she is dreading because after lunch is Biology with Miss Sato. She knows it isn’t a crush, but she hates feeling like this. ‘What if it is a crush?’, she thinks to herself, ‘Would that really be so bad?’ “Yes, yes it would.” She snaps, but blushes when she realizes she said that out loud. Luckily no one heard her, as they’re all paying attention to the stage at the center of the room, as Azula goes through the announcements. Volleyball will be having tryouts afterschool for the next two weeks; she tries to keep note of that.

When the bell rings for 6th period, Korra walks slowly to class. She rushes in with the crowd, keeping her eyes down and heading straight to a desk at the back of the classroom. Miss Sato clears her throat and asks the class to settle down and Korra swears her heart melts at the sound of her voice. She doesn’t know why, but she felt like it’s been ages since she last heard Miss Sato’s voice and she had… she had missed it. Throughout the class, Korra tries her hardest to pay attention but is distracted by Miss Sato, who occasionally walks down the aisle between the desks as she teaches. Korra gets a good whiff of her lavender scented perform and nearly passes out, it smells so good. By the time class ends, she’s at the end of her rope. She’s in pain due to her cramps, angry at herself for allowing Miss Sato to distract her like this and genuinely confused as hell about Biology. She knows that she’s gonna have to spend hours doing the homework tonight and is not looking forward to it. When the bell rings, she tries to hurry out with the crowd of students but feels a gentle hand wrap around her wrist and turns to see Miss Sato smiling at her. Korra struggles to ignore the electricity that shoots through her at Miss Sato’s touch.

“Korra, is everything okay? You seemed a little out of it in class today.” Miss Sato asks with genuine concern in her eyes, still holding Korra’s wrist. Korra pulls her wrist away, not being able to focus with Miss Sato touching her and shakes her head.

“No Miss Sato, everything’s okay. I’ve just had a long day I guess.” Korra responds.

“Is it my class or the way I teach? You looked a little confused today, maybe I can help you.”

“No, you’re a really good teacher, it’s not you. I- I don’t know. I have to go to PE before I’m late.”

Miss Sato waves her off, “I’ll just write you a note. Kurvira might seem tough on the outside but she’s really understanding, don’t worry about that right now.” She leans over her desk to get a paper and pen and bends over to write the note. It takes every ounce of strength Korra has in her to not check out her ass while she bends over.

“You know Korra, I don’t want you to fall behind. If you can find free time in your schedule, maybe we can meet and go over the homework together? Like a tutoring session?” Miss Sato says as she writes the note.

“O-Oh...ummm. I don’t…I don’t know. I’m gonna be really…busy with…my other classes. So… I’ll uh, I’ll think about it?” Korra stutters. She _reallyyy_ doesn’t want to spend any extra time with Miss Sato when she feels this way around her.

“Korra,” Miss Sato shoots her a look, “I don’t want you to run from this. If we-’’

“I’m not _running_ from anything.” Korra snaps at Miss Sato but is immediately filled with guilt when she sees a hurt look flash across the teacher’s face.

“I’m sorry! I’m so so sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that, it’s just been a long day and I’m really tired and I started my period and I’m cramping and I really really miss my dad and my little brother even though it’s only been a day and-’’, Korra tries to hold back a sob but fails miserably. Her vision is blurred with tears but she sees a shape moving toward her and is enveloped by Miss Sato’s long arms and pressed against her chest. Korra’s heartbeat speeds up as Miss Sato runs her hands up and down her back, trying to soothe her. To Korra’s dismay, she realizes that she can stay like this forever and be perfectly fine. After she finally calms down, Miss Sato lets her go and looks at her for a moment, then walks around to desk and pulls out some Tylenols, tissue, and a bottle of water. Korra takes the medicine gratefully and blows her nose into the tissue loudly, causing Miss Sato to laugh which makes Korra smile. She loves that laugh so much.

“I understand what you’re going through Korra and I won’t push you, but please know you can come to me for help okay? And think about my tutoring offer?” Miss Sato says as she hands Korra the note.

Korra nods and takes the note. “I’ll see if I have time in my schedule.”

Miss Sato laughs, “I know you’re schedule Korra. You have time. Stop running before it’s too late.”

Korra turns beet red and mumbles goodbye as she hurriedly leaves the classroom.

Coach Kurvira allows Korra to sit on the bleachers during PE due to her cramps, and she uses this time to figure out her next move. She realizes that Miss Sato might be right; Korra might actually be running from something, but she can’t figure out _why_. Why does she have these intense feelings? Are they normal? What do they mean? Is she running from one thing or is it multiple things? Korra comes to the conclusion that she’s gonna continue avoiding Miss Sato until she figures this out.

* * *

She spends the next week doing just that, avoiding eye contact with Miss Sato, keeping her head down during class, not going to the living area for recreation time, and looking the other way when she saw her in the dining hall or somewhere else on campus or the housing block.

She’s still having the dreams about her. Although they’re not nearly as intense as the first one, they still make things awkward, which further pushes Korra to keep up this ignoring act.

She’s on her way out of her 3rd counseling session with Miss Mary, the school psychologist, when Mary stops her and asks her to come sit back down really quick. Korra sighs and plops back down into the seat. She knows that Mary means well, but she isn’t a fan of opening up to strangers.

“Korra honey, I know this is hard for you, but the only way either of us will benefit from these sessions is if we’re completely honest with each other. You can’t keep running from things that scare you.”

Korra’s head snaps up at this and she squints her eyes.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Korra asks.

Mary smiles softly, “You know what I mean Korra. Go ahead and go, I’ll see you next session.” She dismisses her kindly.

Korra walks out of the office in a daze, her mind reeling. She spends the rest of the day in deep thought.

After dinner, Korra goes up to the dorm room and lays on her bed, mind still trying to connect pieces to a puzzle she didn’t know she needed to solve. Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears Kya enter the room.

“Hey dork, are you ever gonna come down to the livi-”

Kya stops mid-sentence and gives her a look.

“Uh oh, you have that ‘I’m going through some life-changing shit’ look on your face”, Kya sits on the bed next to her, “You wanna talk about it?”

Korra hesitates. She’s not sure if she wants to tell anyone about the feelings she’s had for Miss Sato for the past week. Even though she trusts Kya and sees her almost as a sister, she’s not sure what they mean, and she wants to figure them out before she makes a big announcement out of it.

Korra sighs; “I had a sort of eye-opening counseling session today. Apparently, I run from things when I’m scared.” Korra rolls her eyes.

Kya smirks at her, “Well do you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so? I mean I’ve never backed down from a fight before my mom…” Korra trails off while frowning.

Kya looks forward and tilts her head slightly, seemingly trying to figure something out before she finally turns back to Korra with a smile on her face.

“Well lucky for you, my mom is a therapist so she deals with this kind of stuff all the time, so naturally I am well-versed in the art of therapy.”, Kya dramatically waves her fingers in Korra’s face, making her giggle.

“Maybe it’s a fear of failure.” Kya continues, “Sometimes, we’ve done so bad at stuff in the past that when we’re presented with it again, we freeze up and avoid it. That way when we evidently fail again, it’s not as hard to take the blow because we have an excuse for doing so badly.” Kya finishes with a smile directed at Korra.

Korra sits in stunned silence for a couple seconds before she grins broadly and throws her arms around Kya.

“WOW. Who knew there was actually a brain under that thick ass skull.” Korra jokes.

“Fuck you.” Kya laughs and peels away from Korra, “Are you coming down to the living area tonight? We’re doing karaoke!”

Korra shakes her head, “Nah, I gotta finish up my homework, then I’m gonna hit the hay. Very big day tomorrow, gonna take my super smart friend’s advice and face my fears.”

“Ugh, whatever. You’re such a dork. Alright then, I’ll see you later” Kya smiles at her and then gets up and leaves the room.

Korra finishes up her homework and then gets ready for the bed, feeling like a huge load has been taken off of her shoulders. She goes to bed with her mind set on a goal: Face her fear. Face Miss Sato.

* * *

The next day, Korra breezes through her classes, eager to get to biology. When 6th period rolls around, she walks into the class ahead of everyone else, making direct eye contact with Miss Sato and giving her a bright smile. This seems to throw Miss Sato off guard, but she quickly recovers and flashes a smile back in Korra’s direction that makes her heart race.

She goes even further by choosing a seat in the front row this time instead of all the way at the back, much to the annoyance of the girl who had been sitting there before her. Even though Miss Sato is still a distraction, she’s able to follow along somewhat today.

After class, she waits for all the students to filter out before she marches up to Miss Sato’s desk, determined.

“Alright Miss Sato, I know what you’ve been up to. I don’t know how you got to Kya, but I know you for sure talked to Miss Mary and I want you to know that I’m on to you. Fine, I’ll let you tutor me. I’ll sign up to try out for volleyball and if I make the team, I’ll have PE free, so you can tutor me then. I would tell you what period I have PE, but I think you already _know_ , don’t you? I’m not free yet cuz I haven’t made the team but I’m most likely going to. But until then, I’ll see you tomorrow, _after_ classes are done. Be here, 4 pm _sharp._ ”

With that, Korra whips around to make a dramatic exit but stops when Miss Sato gently holds onto her wrist. If this woman keeps grabbing her wrist like this, Korra thinks she might pass away from the electricity that the touch brings. She turns around slowly, dragging her eyes up from her wrist to her arm to those deep, beautiful, jade-green eyes. Korra feels as though her feet are glued to the spot.

Miss Sato gives her a sly smirk “I actually didn’t talk to Kya but I _might_ have mentioned something to Mary in hopes that she would bring it up in a session,” She says with a playful twinkle in her eyes, “I’m proud of you Korra. And I look forward to working with you.”

Korra feels her face heat up and nods briskly, then hurries out of the classroom, smiling so hard she feels as if her face is gonna split in two. She immediately heads to Coach Kurvira’s office to sign up for tryouts, still feeling Miss Sato’s hand wrapped around her wrist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who submitted their final project is now gonna be fully committed to progressing with this story!? I don’t know, I literally have so much energy and am so excited to write this that I might actually be able to put a lot of it out before I get sidetracked with school. Also, after googling the difference between mature and explicit, I changed the tag to explicit because it’s definitely gonna get kinda nasty later on guys, but I’ll put warnings in the start notes without spoiling the chapter! Just wanna give ppl a heads up.


	4. Pretty Girl-Clairo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami struggles with making a decision about her role at the academy. Outside of school, she deals with relationship problems and the stress of having an overbearing billionaire as a father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I could be a pretty girl, shut up when you want me to~

~Asami~

Asami awakes slowly and stretches out her arms. She yawns and glances over at her alarm clock, seeing that it’s 8 am. It’s Sunday, so she could sleep in if she wants to, and when she’s by herself she usually does, but her boyfriend slept over last night, making her less eager to stay in the comfort of her bed. She hears a grunt and looks over at him, feeling guilty for still not enjoying waking up next to him, even after two years. The guilt keeps her planted in bed, and with a sigh, she lays and waits for him to wake up, willing him to go faster so she can get this over with.

Asami smiles at Mako gently as he pops one eye open and takes in his surroundings.

“Good morning handsome”, Asami says gently, and ruffles his hair, making his bedhead even worse. Mako grins and grabs her hand to kiss it.

“Good morning gorgeous” he mutters into her palm. This shouldn’t annoy Asami, but it does, mostly because she knows what’s coming next. He’s so predictable.

Like clockwork, he begins kissing down her arm as his left-hand cups her breast and rolls her flat nipple between his thumb and index finger. She sighs and he takes this as a sign to take her into his arms and roll over with her on top, straddling him. He presses his hardness into her center and she lets out a fake moan and throws her head back for dramatic effect.

‘Aaaand here we go’, Asami thinks, irritated. It was too early in the morning to have to put on a show, but she’d already been performing for most of her life; how much more would one morning hurt?

“Mako honey, don’t you have to be at work soon?” She asks as she leans over and kisses along his jawline. He grunts and grabs her ass roughly. Damn it, she hates that so much. Why do boys grab your ass so hard? It’s not like it’s going anywhere.

“I think we can squeeze in a quick one before I go, what about you?”

‘You only last about 20 seconds buddy, yea I think we’ll have time’, Asami thinks sourly, but smiles sweetly at Mako. “Alright then, get the lube.” Mako eagerly complies.

Twenty minutes later, Asami lays on the bed, extremely unsatisfied but glad it’s over. ‘Until next weekend’, she muses as she hears Mako’s car pull out of her driveway. She waits for a second, seeing if she can ignore the ache that Mako left between her legs and sighs when she realizes she has to get rid of it herself. She fumbles around in her drawer for her vibrator and then gets to work.

After she’s done, she falls back asleep and wakes up again at 10am, hopping out of bed to fix a cup of coffee and make a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She flips absentmindedly through the tv and stops when she gets to Spongebob, smirking at a quip that Squidward had just aimed at the clueless sea sponge. After breakfast, she brushes her teeth and puts her hair up in a ponytail, staring at herself in the mirror. One sort of good thing about sex with Mako is that he doesn’t leave hickeys or blemishes, so she never has to cover up afterwards. Not that she would mind covering up. In fact, some of the best sex of her life had left her looking like she fought a war and lost the next day. She tried to encourage Mako to spice it up one night, choke her, bite her, slap her ass while in doggy-style, _literally anything_ , and he had looked at her like she was insane. She never brought it up again. Sighing, she turns on some music and dances around the house, straightening up before she starts working on her lesson plans for the week. She has to get them done before her dad’s investment dinner tonight.

Her house is nice and spacious, not too big to make her feel alone, but also not small enough to make her feel cramped. It was two stories with a main bedroom and guest room where her little sister, Suki, or her best friend, June, sometimes slept when they would spend the night. She had to beg her father to not go overboard with decorating the house; she hated being surrounded by super expensive things. Her father obliged, but still refused to let her get a real job and pay the rent.

“This is only temporary, until you come to your senses and start learning the ropes of the company so you can eventually take over. Getting a job will only make this…” He trailed off then, but Asami knew what he was going to say. A job would make this permanent. It would mean that she had plans on staying here, and the means to support herself without his help. A job would mean independence.

After she’s done with the lesson plans, she starts getting together Korra’s extra practice assignments and smiles softly as she hums along to the music. She feels a warmth spread over her as she thinks about the adorably awkward girl. The week after Asami had confronted Korra about running had been one of the most anxious weeks of her life. Korra seemed to go out of her way to avoid her, which had hurt Asami more than she cared to admit. She was sure she had overstepped a boundary and caused Korra to dislike her. Asami didn’t generally care too much about whether people liked her or not; she was rich and pretty, soon to be the owner of a billion-dollar company. Why should she care if people disliked her? But for some reason, the idea of Korra being one of those people made her sick to her stomach. Every time she tried to approach her to apologize, she would purposely go the other way. In class, she would sit at the back of the room with her head down, fiddling with her fingers or pretending to take notes, and as soon as the bell rung, she would rush out before Asami could stop her.

She figured she wanted Korra to like her because all of her students usually liked her. What’s not to like? She was funny, and kind, and not super strict. She figured her looks might have something to do with it too, as she had caught many girls staring at her lustfully from time to time, but overall, she was genuinely a really good person. Why didn’t Korra like her? Not like that, but just…in general. Why was she avoiding her?

Asami was at the end of her rope with the whole situation, and not knowing what else to do, she had turned to Mary, the school therapist.

She leaned against the door of the break room, hesitant. Should she really do this?

Mary had sensed her presence then and looked up with a smile. Asami took a deep breath. Okay, she was gonna do this.

“Hey Mary, you busy?” Asami had asked.

“Not at all, Miss Sato. What can I help you with?” Mary responded kindly.

“Well…it’s about… Korra.” Asami hesitated as she sat down in the chair across from Mary, “Look…I know this is probably a huge breach of patient confidentiality and I’m not asking for details but I just want to know if you’ve made any progress with her yet because I feel like it might be affecting her grade in Biology and I’ve been trying to talk to her but she’s been avoiding me and I just want to know if everything is okay.” Asami finished in a rush.

Mary had let out a chuckle, amused, “You’re right Miss Sato, I can’t talk to you about the sessions without breaching confidentiality. However, I can tell you that it takes a while for some people to open up, especially when they’ve been through what Korra has been through in the past year. Give her some time.” Mary smiles.

Asami sighs and nods her head. “Okay… I guess you’re right. But can you just tell her…can you tell her to stop running from me? _Please_? I promised to help her conquer biology but she’s making that very… _difficult_.” Asami groans.

Mary had cocked her head to the side as if she was trying to figure something out, then a light bulb went off in her head and realization washed over her face.

“You know what Miss Sato, I think I will. Thank you.” She smiled and then gently squeezed Asami’s hand before she stood and exited the room.

More often than not after that conversation, Asami had considered just going to Korra’s dorm room to confront her, apologize and just get it over with. At one point, she had even climbed the stairs to do so after she saw Korra bolt out of the dining hall but lost her nerve when she saw Kya exit the room and start walking in her direction.

“Is she okay in there?” Asami had asked. Kya nodded.

“Oh yea, she’s fine. Not life or death, just a little teenage crisis. You can go in there if you want, she might need adult guidance or whatever.”

Asami had hesitated, but then shook her head, “No, I’ll just let her get through it. Come on, let’s go to Karaoke night.”

She was pleasantly surprised the next day to see Korra march into her class as if she was on a mission. Korra had locked those sparkling blue eyes onto her, and for the first time ever, flashed the biggest, most beautiful little crooked grin in her direction. Asami felt her heart stop and butterflies began to float in her stomach. She was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered and flashed a bright, sincere smile back. She was even more surprised to see Korra take a seat right in the front row, neatly spreading out her notepad and her pens, getting ready for that day’s lesson. It took all of Asami’s energy to teach the class that day, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Korra. Korra _liked_ her. Or at the very least, Korra didn’t hate her.

She remembers her amusement at Korra challenging her after class and the surge of heat that went through her as she clasped her hand around Korra’s wrist. She hadn’t meant to, but now that she did, she had had to scramble for something to say. ‘I look forward to working with you’, and she really, really did. She remembers still feeling Korra’s wrist in her hand hours later.

She’s snapped out of her daydream by her phone ringing and smiles when she sees that it’s June calling her.

“Hello?” Asami answers and winces when she hears June yelling at someone in the background.

“Keep your hands to yourself, you fuckin asshole! The shorts clearly say, ‘Hands OFF’!” June curses at the offender, “Hello? Asami? Fuck me, I hate taking the train.”

Asami chuckles, “You know we could have just met up at your place June? It made more sense so you wouldn’t have to carry-”

“Yada yada yada, Asami we’ve been through this a million times, your bathroom has better lighting! Plus, I don’t want your cute co-worker to see my junkyard of an apartment, what’s his name? Mr. Fuego? Damn, that man is fiiiiiine, ugh I would climb that like a mountain.”

Asami sighs, “His name is Iroh Feu June, and he’s gay remember? Veryyy gay. Married to a man with two adopted children from a 3rd world country gay.” Asami rolls her eyes.

“Ugh whatever Asami, am I supposed to not enjoy looking at a Christmas tree even if I can’t unwrap the presents underneath them?! No! The tree is still pretty! Anyways, what’s the dress code for this thing again? I have a lot of options here but I’m thinkin’ some green could really help your eyes pop out, or should we stick with plain black? Classic is always the safe way to go with these old cranky businessmen but still-”

Asami listens half-heartedly as June drags on, finally hanging up the phone when June gets into another screaming match with a groping stranger. She chuckles softly, finishes sorting out Korra’s practice assignments and then heads to the shower, realizing she never rinsed Mako off of her from this morning. She’s just got done shaving, rinsing the last of the soap off and wrapping a towel around herself when she hears her front door open.

“Saaaamiiiii?! Where you at? Let’s get this show on the road!” June yells as she closes the door behind her and then starts coming upstairs. Asami holds her head in her hands, wondering what she got herself into. She spends the next two hours being fussed over by June as she has her try on several outfits and does her hair and makeup. They settle on a classy, long black dress with an open back, black, strappy heels, and jade-green evening gloves and a green brooch around her neck to bring out her eyes. June gives her a smoky eye look and paints her lips red, then lets her hair cascade down her back in loose ringlets, formed meticulously by June and her curling wand.

“Ugh, I have _got_ to stop making you look so hot, it’s starting to make me feel insecure.” June pouts.

Asami smiles at her best friend in the mirror and is about to say something back when she’s interrupted by the doorbell ringing. “That must be Iroh. Let’s get this over with.” Asami sighs. June grabs her hand and squeezes gently. “We’ll be right there with you Sami. Promise.” Asami smiles and squeezes back, before letting go and exiting the bathroom.

She makes her way down the stairs and opens the front door to find Iroh, looking extremely handsome in his fashionable suit and tie and smelling like heaven.

Asami grins, “Hello Iroh! It’s so good to see you. God, you always smell so good” Asami says as she leans in to hug him.

Iroh laughs heartily, “You look beautiful Asami, absolutely stunning.”

“Hubba hubba hubba.”, June says as she comes up behind them, “Look Asami says you’re gay and happily married, and I totally respect that, but please let me know if you guys ever open up applications for a third person to join the relationship. I wouldn’t even have to do anything, just sit in a corner in the bedroom and watch.”

Iroh throws his head back in laughter. “And _you_ , must be June. I’m so glad to meet you.”

“The one and only. And please, the pleasures allll mine.” June smirks as she looks Iroh up and down.

Asami rolls her eyes and loops her arms through June’s and Iroh’s, tugging them both toward the car. “Let’s go before my dad has a heart attack about me not being there.”

Nothing interesting really happens at the dinner. Asami greets her father who’s eyes light up with pride when he looks at her, making her feel like she’s 12 years old again and still Daddy’s good little girl. He whisks her around to potential investor after investor, introducing her as his genius daughter who graduated from Harvard and is set to take over the company soon. The investors are listening to him half-heartedly, their attention more focused on undressing Asami with their eyes. Asami fights to keep her disgust invisible and smiles politely at all the men her father introduces to her. He’s always been bad at noticing these things; that’s where her mother had usually stepped in.

By the end of the night, her face hurts so much from smiling she feels like it’s going to fall off. She waves down her father from the crowd and tells him that she has to go; she has to teach at the academy tomorrow. Her father frowns at this and pulls her to the side. Asami sighs, already knowing what he’s going to say next. She braces herself.

“Asami…sweetheart. What are you trying to prove? When are you going to stop being selfish, quit that side hobby of yours and come learn how to run the company? Your sister Suki is-” he begins, but Asami cuts him off.

“Daddy, it’s not a side hobby. I…I really enjoy working there and teaching, I feel like I’m actually doing something good with my life. Look…Headmaster Zhu Li offered me a full-time position, with benefits and a salary and I’ve been thinking about accepting it and-”

At this, Hiroshi’s face turns beet red and he stares at her incredulously.

“Y-you cannot _possibly_ be serious. No. _NO. I forbid it_.” Hiroshi whispers angrily.

Asami balls her hands into fist.

“I am _not_ a child anymore, Dad. You can’t forbid from doing anything. I’ve already told you multiple times, I don’t want to run your stupid fuckin company, and you _can’t_ make me.”

“You watch your language, young lady. And lower. Your. Voice.” He says in a low, angry growl.

Asami opens her mouth, completely ready and more than willing to make a scene but she suddenly feels a hand grip her shoulder and sees June sidle up next to her, a bright smile plastered on her face.

“Why helloooo Mr. Sato. It’s so good to see you on this fine evening. You’re looking absolutely dashing, as always! I’m afraid I’m gonna have to steal your daughter for the evening, she’s my ride home and I am egg-zaw-steaaad. Wheew, I had a great time though! Thanks for the food, it was amazing!” June gracefully whisks Asami away and towards the exit, where Iroh is waiting for them with the car keys in hand, ready to go. He smiles gently.

“It started looking a little tense over there, so I sent June to intervene while I got the car from valet. You ready to go?”

Asami nods and smiles gratefully at him as they all pile into the car. Iroh offers Asami a ride to the academy and she accepts. They first drop June off, then stop at Asami’s place to get her luggage and then head back to the academy.

Asami curses as she struggles up the stairs of the year 11 housing block when she senses a presence in front of her and looks up. To her surprise she sees Korra standing in the doorway, smiling at her. She’s wearing shorts and an oversized, long sleeved crew neck, her two little Dutch braids messy from sleep, her feet bare.

Asami smiles at her. “Korra what are you doing up so late?”

Korra shrugs, “I was up studying and fell asleep at my desk. Woke up and came downstairs to get water. Heard someone cursing up a storm outside and came to investigate.” Korra smirks at her, “I’ve never met someone who looks like an angel but curses like a sailor. Well aside from Kya, I guess.” Korra snorts.

Asami’s heartbeat speeds up and her breath catches in her throat, but she figures it’s due to her struggle up the stairs. She chuckles and hangs her head in defeat. “You caught me. But don’t tell anybody, okay? Gotta keep up my good girl image.”

Korra giggles, “Aye aye captain. Would you like some help with those?”

Asami nods her consent and Korra rushes over to help. Her hand brushes against Asami’s in the moment she transfers a bag over to Korra and she feels a spark of electricity run through her. ‘What the hell was that’ she thinks to herself, frowning as she watches Korra walk into the building. Korra turns around and smiles at her. “Are you coming?” Asami finds that her mouth is too dry for her to speak, so she just nods and starts following Korra.

They get to her room and Asami enters the code to get in, then strolls through the doors and unceremoniously dumps her things next to her bed. Korra follows suit and then stops to look around and observe the room. Asami watches her, her heart beating so loud she’s sure Korra can hear it and butterflies running rampant through her stomach. She must have eaten something bad at the dinner. Or drank too much champagne. 

“Your room is exactly what I imagined it would be like.” Korra whispers kind of to herself, in awe.

“How did you imagine it?” Asami whispers back, not wanting to pull Korra out of whatever daze she’s in but fails anyways. Korra shakes her head as if trying to physically clear her mind, blinks and then smiles at Asami.

“Fancy but simple. Like you.” She shoots Asami that crooked grin and Asami feels her heart melt into a puddle on the floor.

“Well I gotta go back to studying. Really big biology test tomorrow.” Korra rolls her eyes and Asami laughs. “Goodnight Korra”

“Goodnight Miss Sato.” Korra makes her way toward the door but before she leaves, she turns around and smiles, “Also you’ve probably heard this a million times tonight, but you look really… _really_ pretty.” Korra says and then shuts the door.

Asami feels like her heart is going to fly out of her chest and she feels herself blushing. Wait, what? Why is she blushing? WHY is she blushing? She hadn’t blushed in _years_ , not since things had stopped being exciting with Mako.

‘Well, for a while there, I thought Korra hated me. Maybe I’m just happy that she’s finally talking to me.” Asami reasons to herself. Satisfied with this, she goes to her bathroom to wipe her makeup off and brush her teeth. She finds that she’s a little sad to wipe off the face that Korra thinks is so pretty and smacks her forehead, trying to get rid of the random thought. She snuggles into her covers that night, slipping into a peaceful sleep, images of a blue-eyed angel flashing through her dreams.

Asami wakes up the next day feeling refreshed and checks her phone to see a text from Mako, asking her if she wants to get dinner tonight. She groans, really not wanting to see him again so soon, but she hates saying no to him. She sends him a quick yes with a smiley face and red heart, then throws her covers off and gets ready for the day.

She finds that she’s actually really eager to get through the day so that she can see Korra in 6th period. She figures it’s because she’s eager to see her progress in class; it’s only her third year being a teacher of sorts, and she wants to know if her teaching skills are actually effective. The first tutoring session was a little rocky. Korra was a tense, stuttering mess, all her bravado from the previous day had washed down the drain. Asami had to bite back giggles the entire session as Korra tripped over her sentences and got angry with herself for not being able to focus. After about 20 minutes of Asami teaching Korra self-calming breathing techniques, Korra had finally cooled down enough to actually dig into the material. By the end of the two-hour session, Korra had loosened up significantly, and was able to solve a majority of the homework problems by herself and even cracked a joke or two. Asami found that she loved the way Korra’s laugh sounded, or how she would crinkle her nose and chew on her pencil’s eraser when she was stuck on a difficult question.

It also helped that Korra seemed to be the teacher’s favorite in all her other classes too. As Asami went to go drop off her report during lunch, she couldn’t help but read the other teachers’ reports on Korra too.

“An excellent mathematician and great potential to be a future assistant.” Varrick had scribbled down.

“A lot of tension when she first came, but I’ve noticed a significant shift in her aura over the past couple of days. Limitless amount of power in this one.” Zaheer had written. Asami smiled to herself; of course, her Korra was a model student. Wait. Whoa. _Whoooaaaaa. Her_ Korra? Did she just say _HER_ Korra?

Asami panicked as she scrambled to find an explanation for the possessive language, she had just used but was coming up blank. ‘Okay well…well she _is_ one of my students, so she technically is _my_ Korra. And Varrick’s Korra. And Zaheer’s Korra. Yea…yea Korra is everybody’s Kor… _fuck_.’ Asami groaned inwardly. She shook her head and made a dash to exit the teacher’s lounge when she almost ran over Headmaster Zhu Li.

“Ahhh! Zhu Li I’m so sorry, did I hurt you?” Asami cried.

Zhu Li laughed and waved her off.

“Miss Sato calm down. I’m fine, I promise. I had actually been looking for you. I wanted to know if you had time to think about my offer.”

Asami hesitated. She wanted so badly to say yes right then and there. It was the perfect opportunity. She would have a stable income, and the job would look great on her application when she applied to be a research assistant. Then she remembered the argument with her dad, and she honestly didn’t have the energy right now to fight with him again. But…she still didn’t want to say no just yet.

“Honestly Zhu Li, I’m…I’m still thinking about it. Just gotta work out a few kinks in my personal life, ya know?” Asami smiled softly. Zhu Li nodded understandingly and gently gripped Asami’s shoulder.

“Of course, kiddo, the spot’s always gonna be open for you. Take your time making that decision. We love having you here, and we just want to make it official.” With that, Zhu Li walks away in the opposite direction.

Asami sighs and then heads to her classroom. Her heart skips a beat when she sees Korra waiting for her next to the classroom door, smiling.

“Hi Miss Sato, you look nice today. I like your hat, it’s fancy. Can you help me work out a couple of the homework problems before the test please?” Korra pouts.

Asami swallows past the mysterious lump that had rose to her throat, smiles back and nods. She follows Korra into the classroom and helps her out with the homework problems.

Asami can’t help but notice how nervous and jittery Korra is. She’s bouncing her legs nervously and tapping her pencil against the desk. Asami frowns, thinking that they had worked through this already.

“Korra honey, are you okay? Your leg is shaking.”

Korra sighs nervously, “I’m just nervous about the test, I guess. First attempt at seeing if I’ve actually learned anything.” She shrugs and looks at Asami with the most vulnerable expression on her face, it takes all of Asami not to wrap her up in her arms and hold her. Instead she gently lays a hand over Korra’s.

“Don’t worry sweetie, you’re gonna do fine. And remember, I allow students to re-take the test if they don’t do so well the first time. I’ll even give you more time if you need it okay. Remember you have next period free since you made the varsity volleyball team?” Asami smirks.

Korra giggles and nods her head, “Okay” she says shyly, fiddling with her braid.

The bell rings, snapping them out of their trance and Asami quickly straightens up and brushes herself off, getting ready for the rest of the class to come in.

She allows the class to settle down and then passes the tests out, giving the students the entire class hour to complete it. When the bell rings again to signal the end of class, she has them all pass the tests forward and allows them to leave. As she’s sorting the tests out at her desk, she notices Korra hesitate at the door.

She looks up and smiles, “Yes Korra, how can I help you?”

Korra pauses for a minute, but then walks toward Asami.

“Well…I actually kind of have next period free remember? And I know we don’t have a session today but may I… may I stay here with you? I can help grade homework for other classes or clean your desk or something.” Korra asks shyly, staring at the ground in front of Asami.

Asami grins and nods her head. “Of course, you can stay here. I don’t have anything to do yet, but we can talk if you want?”

Korra nods her head eagerly, drags a chair to Asami’s desk and plops down in it. She immediately starts asking Asami questions about herself, like where she grew up, “Texas” Asami answers, and what’s her favorite color, “Red and black, as you can see by my outfits.” Asami waves her hands up and down her body, as if saying ‘see?’. Once or twice Korra tries to ask her how old she is or if she has a boyfriend, but Asami waves those questions off with a laugh. She doesn’t want her students to know anything about her personal life if she can help it. She learns a lot about Korra too. She has a stuffed polar-bear dog named Naga, she broke the same arm twice in the span of a year, one time she lost her little brother Bato in an amusement park, and she’s only been outside of California three times her entire life. Asami finds that she’s surprisingly easy to talk to; most of her students only talk to her about boys or sex or petty grievances they have with other girls at the school, but Korra asks her questions about herself and listens like she actually cares about the answer. Eventually the bell rings to signal the end of classes for the day and Korra gets up slowly to leave, but then stops.

“Miss Sato, I know this might be a sort of a…personal question… and I see how you purposely avoid those…but why are you here?” Korra blanches and waves her hands, “No I mean not like that! I’m really happy you’re here of course but Kya was telling me how you you’re not actually a teacher here and you’re kind of just volunteering and you do so much in general but you’re really doing so much to help me and you don’t even get paid and I just…I don’t understand.” Korra looks at the ground as she finishes, seeming slightly embarrassed.

Asami regards Korra curiously before slowly answering her. She’s never really talked to a student about her job situation before, mainly because no student has ever really asked.

“I…I want to be a part of a research study that deals with finding a way to prevent cells from ever being cancerous.” Asami starts, surprising herself. She hasn’t told anyone besides her best friend and her sister her life dream. And now, apparently Korra. “I worked with Professor Katara in a wet lab study when I studied at Harvard. She took me under her wing and allowed me to substitute in for her here while she went traveling with her husband. It was only supposed to be for a couple months but when I found that I loved it so much, I volunteered to stay longer. Headmaster Zhu Li even offered me an official job here but…” Asami trails off, frowning as she thinks about the fight with her father.

“Why won’t you take the job?” Korra asks, pulling Asami out of her thoughts. She didn’t know when, but somewhere during her speech, Korra had inched closer and closer to her until she was standing right in front of her. She had such a deep, caring look in her eyes. Asami had to look away and take a deep breath.

“Oh umm…no big reason really. Just personal family stuff.”

Korra laughs, causing Asami to look back at her and smile.

“Miss Sato, I really think you should just take the job. I mean, you’re already here anyways. Plus, it’d look really nice on your resume when you apply to the research thingy! I mean,” Korra looks down sheepishly, “I’d miss you once you left of course, but if I know you’re happy then that would make me happy.” Korra beamed.

Asami’s breath caught in her throat. She gave Korra the sweetest, most sincere smile she’s ever given anyone and noticed that Korra blushed.

“You know what Korra, you’re right. I’ll think about it.”

Korra grins, “Welp! I’m gonna go get ready for practice. I’ll catch you later Miss Sato!” Korra skips out the room, her braids bouncing against her back.

Asami chuckles and finishes packing up her things, then heads for her room to rest before her dinner date tonight. She really doesn’t feel like getting pretty again but knows that Mako will complain if she doesn’t put enough effort into her appearance. He only wants to be seen with the best of the best, of course.

She sinks down onto her bed to rest her eyes for a minute when she’s startled awake by her cell phone ringing. She glances at the caller id and sighs, seeing that it’s her younger sister Suki. Her father most likely called Suki and complained about Asami to her, probably hoping that Suki could talk some sense into the rebellious older girl.

“Hello?” Asami whispered into the phone.

“Hey Sami, it’s me.” Suki pauses “…you probably already know this but…Daddy called.”

Asami was silent, bracing herself for what was surely about to come next.

“ _Fuck me_ I can’t believe I’m saying this… Asami take the damn job, okay?” Suki says.

Asami blinks in shock. Okay, that was _not_ what she expected.

“I’m sorry…huh?”

“It’s what mom would have wanted; we both know that. You don’t want to run dad’s company, you never have. Take the damn job and then apply to the cancer research study. This is your life; live it. Also don’t tell Dad I said that. Bye.” Suki hangs up without letting Asami get another word in.

Asami lets the phone slip from her hand and then sits in stunned silence for a minute. Finally, a slow smile spreads across her face and she squishes her face into her pillow and lets out a happy squeal. She quickly hops up and gets ready for her dinner with Mako with newfound excitement. For the first time in a longtime, she feels alive.

After she dresses and does her hair and makeup, she tries to wait until she doesn’t hear anyone in the hallway and then sneaks out of her room. She’s been able to keep her relationship a secret her entire time here, and she wants to keep it that way. She’s almost to the front door when she’s stopped suddenly by a gasp and the sound of Kya’s voice. “Shit” Asami growls under her breath.

“Miss Sato!? Miss Satoooo is that _you_ trying to sneak out of the housing block, all dressed up?”

Asami turns around slowly as she’s approached by Kya, Jinora, Opal, and Korra.

“Oh my God,”Opal squeals, “Are you going on a date?!” Asami can’t think of a lie fast enough and sighs. She looks over to Korra, who is standing off to the side with an unreadable expression on her face. For some reason, Asami really doesn’t want to answer in front of her.

“Okay okay, fine, I have a date. But please don’t say anything to anyone else.” Asami swears she sees a brief flash of hurt in Korra’s eyes before her gaze drops to the floor. Kya, Jinora, and Opal squeal in excitement and start firing questions at her. She laughs and waves them off. “I’m not telling you little demons anything else, now go. Go!”

Kya grins slyly as she loops her arm through Korra’s, who has been hanging off to the side since the conversation started, and pulls her toward the living area, “You’re not getting off that easy Miss Sato. I’m letting you go now because the movie’s about to start, but I _will_ be bothering you about this until you crack open!”

“Bye Miss Sato! Have fun but not too much fun.” Jinora wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and bounces off after the others.

Asami rolls her eyes and smirks. She still feels bad about talking about her dating life in front of Korra but she shrugs it off. Korra is just a student, it doesn’t matter how she feels about Asami’s dating life. And why would she feel a certain way? Asami shakes her head and continues down the steps.

She enters the code to let herself out the side gate and slides into Mako’s truck, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“You look gorgeous Honey.” Make coos at her.

Asami inwardly grimaces but smiles sweetly at him. “Thank you Handsome. So where are we going tonight?”

Mako had reserved them a table at a nice restaurant in town and the evening was going well. Asami wasn’t having fun necessarily, but she liked the view that the restaurant had and was still on a high from her sister giving her the greenlight on accepting the job earlier. She figures that’s what encourages her to tell Mako about her decision to accept the position, but she regrets it almost immediately. He’s really quiet for a minute, and then sighs.

“Yea about that…your dad called. Asami,” he pauses, but then lets out a deep breath and locks eyes with her, determined, “why are you doing this. You have your whole life set out for you already, a billion-dollar company that’s yours to take, but you refuse to. And this ‘teaching’ thing as an actual job? Applying to be a research assistant?” he says this with a slight look of disgust on his face, “Don’t be stupid, Asami. Your dad is doing you a favor, you know? He could give the company to any old man in a suit and tie, but he wants to hand it over to you, his first born. You’re not even a man, not like that matters, but women aren’t taken seriously in the business world, but he trusts you with it still. Don’t mess this up Asami. Asami? Are you listening?”

Asami sat quietly with her head down, tears falling from her eyes as Mako spoke. She didn’t have it in her to argue again, not tonight, not so soon after the last fight.

Finally, she looks up at him. “Take me home Mako. Now.”

The car ride home is silent, but she allows Mako to kiss her before she gets out of the car.

“Asami you know I love you. I just want you to make good choices.”

Asami nods slowly and then shuts the car door, not bothering to say goodnight. She climbs the stairs to the housing block, exhausted and trying to hold back the tears until she gets to her room.

“Miss Sato?”

She’s halfway to her room when she hears the soft voice call her name and turns around slowly. Korra is standing next to the water fountain, looking at her with concern in her eyes.

Asami really doesn’t want Korra to see her like this, with tears in her eyes and her makeup ruined.

“Oh, hey Korra. What are you doing up so late again? Studying?” She struggles to keep the shakiness out of her voice as she offers a weak smile.

“Ah…um, no I was just…up. Couldn’t sleep, came to get some water.” Korra shrugged, walking closer, but stopped when she noticed the look on Miss Sato’s face. “Miss Sato, are you okay?”

Asami let out a dry laugh, “Yes, never better.”

Korra walked up to her and studied her face for a few moments. Asami felt her heart quicken in pace and struggled to get her breathing under control. Finally, Korra smiled and slowly raised her hand to Asami’s face, gently wiping off the streaked mascara with her thumb. Involuntarily, Asami reached up and grabbed her wrist, but didn’t try to stop her. They stood in that position for a minute before Korra finally pulled her hand away and wiped it off on her pjs.

She smiled softly at Asami before turning away and bouncing up the stairs.

“Goodnight Miss Sato. See you tomorrow. Take the job.” She whispered over the banister before going into her room and shutting the door.

Asami floated to her room in a daze, confused about what had just happened. She sits on her bed for a minute before she finally allowed herself to burst, letting the tears fall out of her and using her pillow to mask the loudness of her sobs. After she’s done crying, she sits back up and grits her teeth. She thinks about her mother, who had always been an avid supporter of all her goals and projects, no matter how far-fetched they seemed. She thinks about the argument with her father, her best friend June squeezing her hand, promising to be there for her, Suki encouraging her to take the job, Mako calling her stupid. And finally, she thinks about Korra. who she had only known for a couple weeks but who seemed to genuinely care about Asami’s well-being. Asami sighs, but then lifts her head up and grits her teeth. Determined, she strides over to her laptop and sends Zhu Li an email, officially accepting the full-time position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww poor Asami :( It sucks to basically have your entire life planned out for you. Glad she sort of took control in the end ;)


	5. Crush-Tessa Violet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra finally comes to terms with her feelings for Miss Sato and is also given a lesson on female anatomy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I got a fascination with your presentation~

~Korra~

It’s the day before the first volleyball home game and the girls are all huddled up on the floor of Korra and Kya’s room, giggling and trying not to talk above a whisper. They’re up past their bedtime trying to destress from a long week of tests and distracting Korra and Tuyen from the nervousness of their first game tomorrow.

Korra groaned and blushed a deep red. “I can’t _possibly_ be the only virgin in here? Jinora?” Korra looked over at her friend in bewilderment. Jinora laughed and shook her head.

“Sorry Korra. Remember my boyfriend Kai? It happened about a year ago.” Jinora says while blushing slightly.

Korra scrunches her nose up in mock disgust and then covers her face up with her hands. They all laugh at Korra’s embarrassment and then quickly put their hands over each other’s’ mouths to stifle it, which only makes them laugh even more. After a moment, they calm down and Jessica pats Korra’s shoulder reassuringly.

“You’re not missing out on much Korra, sex isn’t all that great. And when it does feel good, it doesn’t last for that long.” She shrugs.

Kya snorts, “She’s fucking lying, sex feels _amazing_ Korra. Especially when you’re really turned on. It’s sooooo good. And wet. And hot.” Kya moans into Korra’s ear and Korra gags, pushing her away. The girls all simultaneously groan at Kya’s crudeness.

“Kya, how do you manage to make literally _everything_ sound so dirty and sinful.” Jinora sighs. Kya grins at her and wiggles her eyebrows. “Years and years of practice.”

Opal rolls her eyes. “Sex isn’t like that Korra. I mean, it can be sometimes but only if you want it to be. You just have to talk to your partner before you guys go at it.”

“Partner?” Korra cocks her head to the side.

Kya grins mischievously, “Yes Korra, _partner_. Or fuck buddy. Wet pet. Cream maker.”

“Jesus Kya cut it out. You’re making her short circuit.” Tuyen laughs.

“Okay okay fine!” Kya bows her head in defeat. Korra breathes a sigh of relief, thinking that they’re finally going to move on to another topic, but then she looks back up at Kya and is met with a playful but questioning stare. ‘Damn it, here we go again.’ Korra groans inwardly.

“Korraaaa,” Kya starts, dragging out the last vowel in her name, “Have you ever done _anything_ with a boy before?” Korra shook her head no. “Not even kiss?” Korra shook her head again. “How about a girl?”

“NO KYA” Korra glared at her.

The girls laugh at Korra’s embarrassment.

“Geez Korra, please tell me you at least masturbate?” Kya continues to press.

There’s a long pause before Korra finally shrugs her shoulders. “No…I mean…yea no I don’t do that either.” The girls all glance at each other in stunned silence before they all begin whispering at once.

“What the hell do you mean you don’t masturbate? How is that poss-”

“Korra, honey, you should at least be doing that. Wait, not _at least_ as if not having sex is bad but-”

“God, I feel bad guys, maybe we shouldn’t talk about sex in front of her. Korra are you-”

“You’re like a virgin fuckin Mary Korra, geez louise you probably think we’re all whores or some-”

“Okay I know I said sex wasn’t that great, but you don’t masturbate? That’s like the only time I actually cu-”

“Hey!”, Korra whispered aggressively, causing the other girls to stop talking instantly, “I get it okay. Being a virgin is bad or whatever, and I’m sorry. I’ve just never really…had the urge, I guess? No one’s ever turned me on _that much_.” Korra shrugs. “And it’s not like I haven’t _tried_ to masturbate, I just…I never…finish. I don’t know, maybe there’s something wrong with me. Ugh I hate you guys so much.” Korra groans and pouts, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Kya snorts and waves off Korra’s last statement. “Nonsense, you love us! And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you dummy, you just probably don’t know what you’re doing. I can guide you if you want me to.” Kya winks suggestively.

“Kya!” all the girls yell at her at once, but then immediately slap their hands over their mouths, remembering how they’re not supposed to be up right now.

“Whaaaatt? I didn’t mean it like that, I have a book!” Kya says.

“A book?” Korra repeats, now very interested.

Kya nods enthusiastically. “Unh huh. It’s a detailed guide about female orgasm. And when I say detailed… I mean verrryyy detailed. Pictures and everything. You wanna borrow it?”

Korra blushed as she thought about it. She was still having dreams about Miss Sato and would often wake up feeling irritated and unsatisfied. Maybe she did need to masturbate to get these feelings to finally go away. And she _had_ always learned best by reading…

She opens her mouth to respond when suddenly they hear a click at the door and the girls squeal and scramble to hide under the beds, leaving Korra and Kya in the middle of the room on the floor. Miss Sato stands in the doorway, wearing dark grey sweats, black socks, and a long-sleeved shirt that’s slightly too small, showing a bit of her stomach. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun and she’s wearing glasses. ‘She looks like an angel’ Korra thinks to herself and blushes. To her right, Kya giggles and puts on her innocent schoolgirl demeanor that she saves for adults.

“Hello Miss Sato! My, you’re up very late tonight. Is everything okay?” Kya says sweetly.

Miss Sato raises an eyebrow and smirks. “Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you.” She looks over at Korra and smiles softly. “And don’t you have a game tomorrow? Shouldn’t you be resting?” she asks, breaking Korra out of her trance.

Korra scratches the back of her neck nervously, trying to push away the filthy thoughts that were spilling into her head. “Uh yea but I’m not really tired. Kya was trying to help me…destress.”

Miss Sato laughs. “Yea, judging by the conversation that _everyone_ was having earlier,” she looks pointedly between Korra and Kya’s beds, “it didn’t sound like you were very tired at all.” Kya tried to hold back a laugh but failed and Korra turned so red, she was sure she looked like a tomato. “You _heard_ all that?” Korra asks in horror. Miss Sato laughs, “Well not _all_ of it, but enough. Kya, I won’t say anything about that book you were talking about, but don’t let Headmaster Zhu Li know you have it. You girls go to sleep soon okay? But keep it down. Jinora, Opal, Jessica, and Tuyen, I hope you heard that. And Korra,” Miss Sato pauses at the door and looks at Korra with a playful gleam in her eye, “Don’t let them make you feel bad. I was a late bloomer too.” She said while winking, and then shut the door. Korra blinks as she processes what Miss Sato had just said. She hears a squeal from under her bed and looks over to see Tuyen pushing Jinora out of the way to crawl out.

“Oh my God, that’s so fucking embarrassing, now she knows about all our sex lives.” Jinora groans. Kya snorts, “She already knew about mine, I asked her for condoms.”

“All you people are sick, just sick.” Korra says in disgust, “Can we talk about something else now? _Please?_ ” The girls all laugh at her and thankfully move onto another topic. Eventually they actually do get tired and begin to file out the room to go to their respective dorms, with Tuyen telling Korra that they can walk to the gym together after breakfast to start getting ready for the game. Korra falls asleep that night dreaming of Miss Sato, and how it would feel to hold her.

* * *

The next day is game day, and Tuyen and Korra wave goodbye to their friends as they make their way to the gym to prepare for the match. On their way out, they run into Miss Sato, who’s dressed really casual in jeans and a school t-shirt. Her hair is in ponytail and she has the school colors in two bows on either side of her ponytail. ‘God this woman could wear rags and still look ready for the runway.’ Korra sighs to herself. Miss Sato smiles at them and asks if they’re ready for the big day, to which they both nod enthusiastically.

“Are you gonna be there Miss?” Korra asks earnestly. Miss Sato’s smile widens, and she gently squeeze Korra’s shoulder. “Of course, honey, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She says, sending a shiver down Korra’s spine. “Knock em dead girls” she says with a wink, and they do just that. It’s a near perfect win, the girls winning the first two sets easily and taking the win.

During the second set however, Korra had a slight run in with Azula. Apparently, Azula was also the captain of the varsity volleyball and seemed to go out her way to make practice a living hell for Korra, as they both were the team’s libero and often switched for each other, much to Azula’s annoyance. When they would play against each other during practice, Azula would have her minion, Ty Lee, purposely spike the ball repeatedly at Korra, aiming for her face.

Being team captain also meant that Azula was in charge of the team workouts, and often made Korra run extra laps for every mistake she made and had her do exercises for double the amount of time. Korra took it all in stride, mainly because she didn’t feel like pissing Azula off and secondly because she figured it wasn’t going to last for long, since Azula would be graduating this year anyways. However, unbeknownst to Azula, her pushing Korra to go harder at practice ended up making her a better player, and had the coach start the game with Korra as the libero instead of Azula, pissing the older girl off.

The coach allows Azula to finish out the game as a setter, but Azula instead decides to go for the ball during a particularly heated round, and slams into Korra, causing her to twist her ankle (in retrospect, Korra is beginning to think it was on purpose). Korra cries out in pain and stumbles out of the court, causing them to lose the point and Korra to have to sit out for the rest of the game as she’s checked by the school nurse to make sure her ankle isn’t broken. Azula is smug for the rest of the game, as the coach allows her to stay on as the libero and sends Tuyen in to be the setter.

After the game, Korra sees Coach Kuvira pull Azula to the side, which wipes the smug look off the older girl’s face immediately. Before Korra can see what happens, she’s swooped up by her friends who are cheering and chanting her name, tossing her up on their shoulders. Korra laughs freely and they let her back down, congratulating her on the win.

“Oh my GOD, you were a beast! They couldn’t handle you the first set, and you would’ve crushed them the second one if Azula hadn’t knocked you over.” Opal exclaims.

“Yea, about that, What the actual fuck? Was she trying to fucking kill you?” Kya growls as she glares over to where Coach Kuvira and Azula are.

Korra shrugs good naturedly, “Whatever, I’m over it. And we still won! You guys wanna take the bus into town and get ice cream after the team huddle?” They all nod eagerly and Korra grins and turns around, only to almost bump into Miss Sato.

“Oh crap, I’m sorry Miss, I didn’t see you!”

Miss Sato beams at her and waves her off. “It’s okay honey, really I’m fine. I’m not _that_ delicate.” She says playfully. Korra shivers when she hears Miss Sato call her ‘honey’. “You did awesome out there by the way. How’s the ankle? Did she hurt you really bad?” Miss Sato asks with concern and in what Korra thinks is a slightly defensive tone.

Korra blushes; she had forgot that Miss Sato saw the whole thing play out and is suddenly embarrassed about her fall.

“Oh yea, no I’m fine Miss. Really it’s nothing, my little brother pushes me harder than that.” Korra laughs.

Miss Sato rolls her eyes, “Of course the girl who broke her arm twice in less than a year is gonna say that.” Korra blushes and ducks her head, hoping that the red could be mistaken as her being worked up from the game. “Well anyway, you did amazing. I’ve never been so wrapped up in a game before. Just make sure you be careful okay?”

“Yes ma’m!” Korra answers and then salutes, which makes Miss Sato laugh. God, Korra loved that laugh.

“Miss Sato, we were gonna go to town to get ice cream to celebrate the win, did you wanna come with us?” Opal asks politely. Miss Sato scrunches her face in thought, but then shakes her head.

“Nahh, I’ll pass but thank you ladies. Maybe next time?” She looks at Korra, who smiles and nods eagerly. Miss Sato laughs, “Okay then, definitely next time. I’ll see you girls later, and again, congrats Korra and Tuyen.” She squeezes both of their hands before she walks off into the crowd. Korra stares after her for a second before Tuyen grabs her hand and drags her off to the locker room for the post-game huddle.

* * *

_“Korraaaa…ah…mmmm right there! Ahhhh Right therreee, you’re so good at thiiissss. Ah Don’t stop… baby Pleasseee, don’t…don’t ahhhhhh.” Miss Sato throws her head back and grinds herself down further on Korra’s eager tongue, her moans sending an electric current straight through Korra’s body. She could die right at this very moment and be happy. Her heart is beating so hard and so fast, it feels like it’s about to burst, and in any other situation, she would fear for her life but right now…right now she could ignore it. She **would** ignore it for Miss Sato. Korra moans and sticks her tongue out further, licking, stroking, sucking wherever she could reach. Miss Sato whimpers and looks down at Korra from her position hovering over Korra’s face. Her dark hair cascading down and around her face like a curtain, her cheeks pink from arousal, her beautiful jade-green eyes so dark that they look black and so deep…so deep. She cups Korra’s cheek with one hand and fists a handful of Korra’s hair in the other. “Korraaa, honey, I’m gonna cum. Uggghhhhhh I’m cumming! I’m-” _

Korra jolts awake, panting and clutching her chest. She scrambles to find her phone and sees that it’s 3:37 am on Sunday morning. ‘Oh my God…that was the most intense and vivid one yet. Why is this happening to me?’ Korra thinks as she sits all the way up in her bed and presses her knees to her chest, trying to ignore the ache between her legs. After a while, the ache calms down enough for Korra to be able to ignore it. She fishes around her drawer for a new pair of panties and shuffles to the bathroom to clean herself up. As she’s rinsing her face off with some cold water, Korra starts to worry again. She hadn’t had a dream about Miss Sato in over a week, and even before that, they had never been that intense since the first one. Korra can remember the dream vividly. She had never seen two women have… _do_ anything like that, where on earth did her subconscious even pull that from?

She had to talk to someone about this. Talking to Miss Sato was clearly out of the question. Dad? God, no. Korra shuddered. He’d be supportive most likely, but she didn’t want to have another awkward ‘birds n the bees’ conversation, this time girl on girl edition. That was the worst five minutes of her 14-year-old life, back then. Okay…maybe to Miss Mary? She was really nice, but Korra still wasn’t too fond of explaining her explicit sex dreams to the woman. Korra hears a soft snore from the room and suddenly her entire mood brightens. KYA! Of course, Kya could help her out with this, the girl literally read an entire book about female orgasms. Maybe there was a section in it that discussed how to get rid of unwanted wet dreams.

Korra chewed her lip as she thought out how the conversation would go. She wouldn’t tell Kya that the dreams were about Miss Sato; she’d probably never hear the end if it. She cringed thinking about how difficult Kya would make it to even be in the same room as her and Miss Sato, and eventually Miss Sato would catch on. Okay, no she would _not_ mention Miss Sato. But she would ask her what to do about the dreams. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned the bathroom light off, threw her soiled panties in her dirty clothes bin, and snuggled back under her blankets, thankful that it was Sunday and she could sleep in.

* * *

“Ohhhh you little minx, I _knew_ it! I knew you weren’t whimpering because of your period!” Kya grins at her smugly and is now giving Korra her full attention. All the years would be mingling and watching a movie on a projector in the front lawn tonight, so the girls had come to the room to get some snacks and blankets, giving Korra the opportunity to talk to Kya about her recurring dreams. Korra rolls her eyes, “A little louder Kya, I don’t think they heard you in fuckin Scotland.”

“Shut up, I’m just excited to be right, I love being right. And especially about _this_. Maybe you’re not so innocent after all huh Korra?” Kya winks at her and Korra glares back.

“So, who is this boy that’s got you so hot and heavy, even after all this time.”

Korra shrugs, “Just some jock at my old school. Soccer Player. Great legs.” Korra’s mind wanders to Miss Sato’s bare legs in that sundress that she had seen her in that one weekend Miss Sato stayed on campus instead of going home. “Really, really great legs.”

“Daaaamn, I wanna see this dude. Does he have an insta?” Korra shakes her head.

“Nope. He’s a very lowkey, off the grid kinda guy.” He doesn’t exist actually. Korra smirks. “Okay, so…what do I do?”

“Awwww he must be your first crush, you’re such a cute little dork.”

Korra frowns. There goes that word again. _Crush_. What if she did have a crush on Miss Sato? What then?

“Kya… how do you know if you have a crush on someone?”

Kya snorts, “You’re kidding right?” Korra shakes her head no.

“Oh, you innocent little baby…okay well the dreams are a pretty good indicator that you at least wanna fuck this person.” Korra sighs and rolls her eyes. “But a crush is a bit more than that. You get butterflies when you see them. You love spending time with them, even if it’s doing shit you don’t usually like. You think about them more often than not. And whenever you’re around them you’re just…happy, you know? Although at that point, it might be more than a crush. It might be real feelings.” Kya sighed dreamily. Korra panicked. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT. She literally felt all those things, and _then some_ about Miss Sato. And what was that last bit about “real feelings”? Did Korra…Did Korra _like_ like Miss Sato? Just her luck, her first time having a real crush on someone and it’s her fucking biology teacher.

“But Kya,” Korra starts, pulling her friend out of her trance, “What if you like someone who isn’t…who you’re not supposed to like. Like a teacher. Or a…librarian…or just someone…older…like way older.” Korra adds awkwardly.

Kya giggles and then just shrugs. “Is the jock a teaching librarian who is years older than you? No! But either way, you’re probably not gonna see him anytime soon so, you just gotta get over it I guess. But with you, if it’s only wet dreams, just try to rub it out your system.” She has a mischievous glint in her eyes, “Speaking of rubbing…”. Kya strolls over to her desk and begins searching for something, then pulls out a book, tossing it over to Korra, who scrunches up her face as reads the title.

“I love female orgasms: An Extraordinary orgasm guide? Kya what the hell?”

“Hey, you asked for my help and this is me helping you. Shut up, trust me, read it later. Now let’s go!”

* * *

It took Korra two days to skim over the book, and then three days to go over it again slowly and even jotted down some notes. She felt like such a dork and blushed constantly at the vivid descriptions and images in the book, but she had to admit, Kya was right; the book was actually really helpful. It taught her everything, from oral sex, to penetration, to masturbation, and even confirmed that every vagina did in fact, have a g spot, which Korra had always thought was just a myth. Now that she had the knowledge on how to masturbate however, she had to get over the fear of _actually_ doing it. She had attempted to once after a particular tutoring session when Miss Sato had rubbed her arm and smiled at her after she had finally cracked through a difficult problem, but she lost her nerve and just went on a run before practice instead.

She had also accepted the fact that she did have a crush on Miss Sato, a very, _very_ strong crush, but she struggled to accept that nothing would ever happen, with Miss Sato being her literal teacher. She hoped she would get over it soon, because it was making it difficult to go to the tutoring sessions, but she wouldn’t miss them for the world. Korra left every session with a gushy feeling in between her legs (which apparently, according to the book, meant that she was turned on by Miss Sato). More often than not, it would get so bad that she would have to go to her room to change her panties before practice. Korra had never done laundry so much in her entire life.

It was two weeks before Halloween, and Korra had done all the homework and caught up on all the material, so she really didn’t have to stay with Miss Sato during her free period, but she decided to anyways. Miss Sato was going around the classroom, hanging up decorations and Korra was at her desk, grading other class’ homework and on Miss Sato’s computer to check the homework rubric when suddenly a promotional email popped up and Korra looked at it before thinking. The email was advertising some sort of new no-stick pan but more importantly, the email was addressed to a Miss Asami Sato. _Asami_. So _that’s_ what her first name was. Korra had tried to look her name up when she found out that she was Hiroshi Sato’s daughter, but Miss Sato was rarely ever in the press, and when she was, she was always referred to as ‘The Heiress’ or ‘Daughter of Hiroshi’. Korra repeated the name in her head multiple times and glanced up at her teacher. Of course, she would have a pretty name. She was literally perfect. Smirking, Korra said her name out loud to see Miss Sato’s reaction.

“Asami?”

“Yes?” Miss Sato answered absentmindedly, struggling to keep the fake skeleton she was trying to hang on the door upright. Suddenly she stopped, and then turned to Korra slowly, with a confused look on her face.

“Wait, huh? How did you-”

“Cabbage Inc has a huge sale going on with non-stick grease pans and wanted to pass the message on to a Miss Asami Sato.” Korra said, grinning mischievously at her. 

Miss Sato glares at her playfully but then sighs and smiles.

“Ugh I can’t stand you, okay fine, nosy. Yes, my name is Asami, but don’t tell anyone okay? I like to have an air of mystery about me, thank you very much.” Miss Sato sticks her tongue out at Korra, making her laugh.

“Sure! Your secret is safe with me. Can I call you Asami when we’re alone then?”

“No.”

“Pleeaseee Miss Sato? Only when we’re alone? It’s such a pretty name.” Korra pouts. It might be her eyes playing tricks on her, but she swears she sees Miss Sato blush slightly before she shakes her head.

“Goodness, okay fine. But _only_ when we’re alone. Is that clear?”

Korra squeaks and nods her head eagerly. “Crystal clear! Assaaaamiiii.” Korra says, rolling the name over her tongue, trying to get used to the feel of it.

Miss Sato, or Asami, smirks and pokes her shoulder playfully. “Okay good. Korraaaaa.”

Korra feels her throat close up and her blood freezes, hearing Asami say her name the same way she moaned it in her dream. She feels a rush of wetness shoot to her nether regions and is instantly so turned on, she feels dizzy. Korra shoots up from her seat and clumsily makes her way towards the door.

“Korra? Honey are you okay? What’s the matter?” Korra feels a rush of heat surge through her upon hearing the pet name ‘honey’ and loses her breath again.

“I’m fine, I’m okay Miss Asami. Miss Sato! I meant Miss Sato! I just…I think I ate something bad at lunch and it’s coming back to haunt me… I’m gonna go lie down in my room before practice, I don’t feel…so good.” And with that, Korra rushed out of the room before Asami could say another word.

Korra sprints to her room, kicks her shoes off and collapses on her bed, struggling to control her breathing and fight the nearly painful ache between her legs. After ten minutes, her breathing is back to normal, but she’s still so turned on that she can’t move, and she realizes that she might actually have to do it today. She would have to make herself cum. She groans and glances at the clock. 2:30pm. She has an hour and a half until practice, and Kya would be going straight to piano lessons after her last class ended, so she wouldn’t be interrupted. Now was the best time for her to get this over with.

Sighing in resignation, Korra tried to recall what the book had said about masturbation. Step 1: Get comfortable. Korra tried to relax and focus on her breathing but found that the room was too quiet and hearing other girls outside the window laughing and talking made her anxious, so she put her headphones on and turned on ocean noises. _Much better_. Korra pulled off her shirt and ruined panties so that she was only in her bra, skirt, and thigh-high tights, then laid flat on her back. She began stroking her nipples through her bra, imagining that it was Asami’s hands instead of her own and instantly felt herself get wetter at the image. She moaned on accident and flushed with embarrassment but kept up her ministrations. Korra slid her hand slowly down her stomach and then between her legs and was amazed at what she found. She had never been this _wet_ before. Groaning, she began softly rubbing the spot where she thought her clitoris was and was instantly rewarded with a fresh wave of liquid pooling between her legs and a wave of pleasure that floated up to her chest and then went back down, all the way to her toes.

She gasped and instinctively began to rub faster; up and down, side to side, and in littles circles, trying to figure out which motion she liked the most. She settled on doing circles and felt herself begin to tense up. She was whimpering uncontrollably now, as she continued to rub in between her legs with her right hand and squeeze her breast with her left. She was so close to the edge, closer than she’d ever been before, and a part of her was scared about what would happen when she fell over, but not nearly scared enough for her to want to stop. Korra’s clouded mind wandered to her tutoring session earlier, how she kept stealing glances at Miss Sato as she was going around the room, hanging up decorations, how her hand felt when she wrapped it around Korra’s wrist, how she had said her name, drawing out the last syllable…

“Ahhhh…ughhhh oh..Oh God…Asamiiiii. Oooohhhh…fuck. _FUCK._ ” Korra panted, saying her teacher’s name sending her flying off the edge. She rubbed frantically as wave after wave of intense pleasure shot through her body and clamped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

It took her five minutes to calm down, but afterwards she realized that she had never felt so at peace before. She sat up in a daze and stretched her arms out, then realized that she felt exhausted. She looked at the clock, and seeing that she had an hour until practice, decided that she could take a quick nap. She set her alarm to wake herself up at 3:50pm, and then settled down on her bed, sighing in content.

_________________________________________________________________

Korra breezes through practice and dinner, eager to be around Miss Sato again, but also anxious that her masturbating session might make things really awkward for her. She follows Kya, Jinora, Opal, Jessica, and Tuyen into the living area and immediately scans the room, looking for Miss Sato. She spots her off to the side, talking to a group of girls. Miss Sato looks over at Korra as if she felt her staring and holds her gaze. Korra smiles and waves, but instead of waving back, Miss Sato blushes a bright red and quickly breaks eye contact and goes back to talking.

Korra is confused, and a little hurt but tries not to take it to heart. Maybe she was actually a little upset about Korra knowing her first name? She probably thought she would break her promise and tell everyone. It didn’t seem like a big deal, but Korra knew how much of a private person Miss Sato was, so maybe she really didn’t want anyone here to know her first name, and then Korra had just gone and invaded her privacy like that. Suddenly, Korra felt awful about herself and couldn’t stand to be in the same room as other people. She told Kya she was going to the room to finish up homework and go to sleep early and left before Kya could say anything back.

Korra did actually attempt to do homework, but her brain was scrambled, and her guilt was starting to eat her alive. She eventually gave up and got ready for bed instead, settling into a fitful sleep.

The next day, she skipped going to 6th period and hid in the bathroom instead. She knew she couldn’t avoid Miss Sato forever, especially since she had to turn her homework in, but she was so embarrassed. She didn’t know a damn first name could ever make her feel this bad. The bell rung and she sighed, getting up to head to Miss Sato’s class to talk to her after everyone had left. She hesitated at the door for a second, but then shook her head and knocked, walking in. Miss Sato looked up at her from her desk and seemed to get flustered.

“Korra.” She breathed out softly, making Korra shiver.

“Hi Miss Sato. I… I wanted to talk to you.” Korra stepped in the classroom and closed the door behind her. She saw Miss Sato take a deep breath and gulp.

“A-about what?” she stuttered. Korra tilted her head in confusion. Did she just stutter? And why did she seem so nervous? Her face was literally as red as a tomato.

“Ummm…I guess about yesterday? When I found out your first name. Listen, I’m really, really sorry for being so nosy and pushy, I just…your name is really cool. But I don’t have to say it if it makes you uncomfortable, and I swear I haven’t told anybody, nor do I ever plan on telling anybody. I just… I really don’t want you to be uncomfortable around me. You ignored me yesterday during movie night and I didn’t like how it felt and I don’t wanna feel that way, with anyone really, but especially not with you and I-”

“Korra!” Miss Sato yelled, cutting Korra off in the middle of her rant. Korra blushed in embarrassment and hung her head down, making Miss Sato laugh.

“Korra, I don’t mind you saying my name. In fact, here, say it now, since we’re alone.” Miss Sato smirked at her.

“…Asami?” Korra said hesitantly.

Asami smiled, “Korra.”

Korra grinned broadly, relief flooding through her like a tidal wave.

“Okay…okay cool. I thought you were mad at me.”

“Korra I could never be mad at you.” Asami smiled softly at her but then looked down. She seemed like she was thinking about something before she looked back up at Korra as if she was questioning something. Her eyes seemed a bit blacker suddenly.

“Korra can I…can I ask you something?”

“Of course! Anything Asami.” Korra said eagerly, pulling a chair up to Asami’s desk and getting comfortable, accidentally flashing her thigh as she plopped down into the seat.

Asami seemed to pause but then shook her head, and continued, “Have you…did you like any boys before you came here?”

Korra is silent for a second until the question finally clicks in her brain and she blushes profusely. “Oh! Ummm…no not…not really.”

Asami nods, “Well…what about girls? Are there any girls here that you might…like?”

Korra feels her entire body heat up and chokes on her spit. “Whoa…I…uh I’ve never really looked at girls…like that…until…yea, no.” It wasn’t exactly a lie; she _hadn’t_ looked at girls that way until Asami. But why is she asking this? Does she know?! Jesus Christ, how could she know? It’s literally not possible for her to know. “Umm…why do you ask?”

Asami was looking at her, really looking at her, searching Korra’s eyes like she was trying to find an answer to a question in them. Sighing, she finally broke eye contact and shrugged, smiling.

“Just being a nosy teacher, I guess.” She says while laughing. “Well we have an entire lesson plan to get through since _someone_ skipped class today.” she glared at Korra who shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

“Let’s get started then Miss Waters.”

Korra felt a chill run through her body hearing Asami say her last name, and she felt that annoying ache begin to build up in her again. But she wasn’t worried about it anymore; she had finally found a way to relieve it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so awkward for me to write LMFAOOO, but I’m glad I did it. So is Korra, probably. Also a little hint for the next chapter...she knows lol*wink wink*.
> 
> The book Kya gave Korra is actually a real book that I had to read for a Human Sexuality class that I took over the summer. I highly suggest it, I think it's really helpful!


	6. Temptation-Raveena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami struggles with keeping her personal life and school life separate, trying to maintain a distance from Korra and working on her relationship with Mako.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~But I know we're sposed to be just friends~

~Asami~

_The Previous day…_

“Korra, wait!” Asami called after Korra, but she was already long gone. Asami stands in the middle of her empty classroom, extremely confused about what had just transpired. She was joking around and suddenly Korra hopped up as if she had been bitten by a bug and hightailed it out of the room before Asami could even blink.

‘ _Was it something I said? Did I make her uncomfortable?’_

Korra had genuinely seemed unwell and Asami was worried. She mentally battled with herself on whether or not checking on Korra would be too invasive, but then she sighed and gave in to the urge and started walking slowly towards the year 11 housing block, figuring that’s where she might’ve run off to.

She climbed the spiral staircase that lead to the rooms on the second floor, still debating whether or not she should be doing this, and then stopped in front of Korra’s door. She hesitated, but then sighed and knocked on the door.

“Korra?” It’s me, Miss Sato. Are you okay?”

When she didn’t get an answer, she frowned and knocked again.

“Korra? Honey are you in here?” she called. ‘ _Maybe she went somewhere else’_ Asami thought.

She’s about to walk away from the door when she suddenly hears Korra whimpering, and hurriedly puts her administrator code in to open the door, thinking that Korra is in pain. Nothing could have _ever_ prepared her for the sight she saw upon opening the door.

Korra was splayed out on her bed, her panties and shirt tossed to the side, skirt hiked up on her stomach and her crotch on full display. She was so… _wet._ So wet that it was literally _dripping_ down onto the sheets. Her eyes were screwed shut and she was rubbing in between her legs frantically while simultaneously squeezing her breast through her bra. Asami noticed that she had headphones on, which probably explained why she didn’t hear her knock. She was stuck for a moment before she snapped herself out of it and quickly shut the door, flushed and embarrassed. She leaned against the wall next to the door and took a deep breath to collect herself. Just as she was about to start walking away, she heard Korra moan her name and almost lost it. She squealed and sprinted down the stairs to her room, slamming the door shut behind her and sliding down to the floor.

‘ _Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my FUCKIN God!’_

Never in her twenty-five years of living had she ever walked in on anyone masturbating, _ever._ Then on top of that, this was a _student._ This was _Korra_. And she was thinking about _Asami_ while she got off.

Asami didn’t know what to do next. Should she tell her she saw her? Should she sweep it under the rug and pretend like nothing happened? Asami shuddered. She knew it would be difficult to pretend like nothing happened, but hell would freeze over before she _ever_ told Korra she had seen her masturbating, _and_ that knew she was the star of Korra’s fantasy. She would have to act normal around Korra.

‘ _Well at least I know she likes me’_ Asami thought sarcastically.

Everything about Korra started to click into place now. How she always seemed awkward and nervous around Asami, how she had trouble focusing during the tutoring session at first, why she seemed so interested in Asami’s personal life.

She had students that had tried to approach her before (some more determined then others) and she had graciously laughed them off. She would never look or talk to a student romantically. So why did seeing Korra masturbating and knowing that she was the one Korra was getting off to kind of…turn her on?

Horrified with the realization that seeing Korra touch herself made her horny, Asami yelped, hopped up, and ripped her clothes off to jump into the shower, setting the water to the coldest temperature that it could go.

‘ _I’m sick…I’m disgusting. Jesus, what’s the matter with me, I’ve **never** felt this way about a student before. Why is this happening? Am I ovulating or something?’ _

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and instead tries to focus on the cold shower water running over her body. After she feels herself calm down, she steps out and wraps a towel around herself, letting her hair air dry.

The shower works slightly, but she knows that this isn’t something she can just wash away. She spends an awful amount of time with Korra and doesn’t want this to make things awkward. Korra for sure doesn’t know that Asami saw her, so she would just have to act as if she didn’t see anything. This was definitely going to be one of the most awkward things she’s ever had to do.

Asami decides to skip dinner, mainly because she’s not yet ready to see Korra but also because she’s genuinely not hungry, and instead grades some homework from her year 12 AP biology class until it’s time for her to go monitor game night in the living area.

She nervously scans the room for Korra and is relieved to find that she isn’t there.

‘ _Hopefully she won’t come tonight so that I won’t have to face her just yet.’_

Asami is immediately pulled into a conversation with a group of girls that are asking her for advice on some boy problems.

“I don’t know Miss Sato, it’s just…he’s so _confusing_! One minute, he’s texting me, telling me that he wants to see me on the weekends, then the next he’s leaving me on read and ignoring me for days at a time! He says it’s because he gets busy, but I know his schedule, so I know…”

Asami nods and puts on her most sincere and caring face as she listens to the girl’s rant. She frowns at the girl’s description of her interactions with the teenage boy, and is about to open her mouth to respond when she senses someone looking at her and moves her attention to the door of the living area.

Korra catches her gaze, smiles and waves at her. Suddenly, Asami’s head is filled with the image of Korra rubbing in between her legs frantically and groping at her breast, her face red, her head thrown back, her mouth moaning Asami’s name as she cums…

Asami flushes deep red with embarrassment and quickly turns her attention back to the girl who was venting to her, ignoring Korra’s wave. She immediately fills with guilt. Why did she do that? Korra is innocent, she had no idea Asami had seen her; she doesn’t deserve to be ignored like that. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Korra get up to leave the room and feels her heart drop to her stomach, knowing that she’s the reason Korra left. She almost gets up to go follow her and apologize, but she’s taken out of her thoughts by the girls asking if she’s okay. She nods and then turns her attention back to them, trying to push Korra out of her mind.

The next day, she realizes that she is anxious to see Korra in 6th period and is both relieved but also very concerned when she doesn’t show up to class. Asami goes through the lecture with some trouble, her mind often wandering off as thinks about where Korra might be and occasionally feeling so guilty that she would have to stop and catch her breath before she continued teaching. By the time class was over, she was exhausted, and had made up her mind that she was going to find Korra and apologize for her unprofessional behavior.

Korra thinking about Asami as she masturbates doesn’t necessarily mean that Korra likes her in _that_ way, right? It was most likely just some silly crush that would go away eventually. It was just because they spent so much time together and Asami _was_ pretty young, probably the youngest member of the school staff, and not to toot her own horn or anything, but Asami was nowhere near ugly. Whatever this was, Korra would get over it. Did Asami _want_ her to get over it?

‘ _Of course, I do, why am I even…_ _UGH’_

Asami smacks her head with the palm of her hand and heads to her desk. She’s straightening out the homework that she had collected when she hears a knock at her door and looks up.

Korra is standing in the door frame, clutching her arms and wearing a nervous smile, making Asami’s heart skip a beat.

“Korra” Asami says, breathlessly. She feels nervous but she doesn’t know why. Maybe it’s the way Korra is standing, hesitant, like she’s about to confess to something that could ruin her.

_‘Oh God....she knows…she knows that I know…that I saw her.’_

The logical part of Asami knows that this isn’t possible. Her eyes were screwed shut while she was getting off, and she had her headphones on, so there was no way that she had seen or even heard Asami come in, but still, Asami is worried. So worried that she stutters, and Asami _never_ stutters.

What exactly could she say to Korra if she _does_ confront her?

Before she has time to further stress over possible responses to the hypothetical situation, words start spilling out of Korra’s mouth like water from a leaky faucet and Asami struggles to make sense of them.

“name is really cool…make you uncomfortable…” Korra rambles.

_‘Wait huh? My name is really…cool? Making me uncomfortable? Oh, my goodness, Korra.’_

Asami floods with relief as she realizes that Korra is not confronting her about what she saw yesterday, but instead misinterpreted her actions as Asami being uncomfortable with Korra knowing her first name. She’s tempted to let Korra keep rambling, inwardly laughing at Korra’s adorably awkward attempt at an apology but decides to stop her before Korra spontaneously combusts.

Asami has no idea why she asks the next two questions.

_“Are there any girls here that you might…like?”_

She knows the answer. Or at least she _thinks_ she knows the answer. Honestly, what was she trying to prove here? So, what if Korra did like her? Nothing was going to happen, _ever_. Korra was her student _and_ eight years younger than her. This was _never_ going to happen.

Asami regretted the question as soon as she asked it but still found that she was tense as she waited for the answer. She searched Korra’s eyes (for what, she wasn’t sure, but she searched them nonetheless). Korra had flushed and put her head down as she answered, but when she looked back up, Asami was startled back to reality with how…panicked Korra looked. As if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Asami realized how invasive and unprofessional she was being and shook herself out of it. Shrugging the whole thing off, she got up and began to teach Korra the lecture that she missed that day, trying to ignore how Korra shuddered when Asami called her by her last name.

* * *

“I mean, I don’t know if I’d put a _label_ on myself, but yea okay, I’d probably classify as one of the rainbow letters, sure.” June smirks over the edge of her wine glass and then extends her arm out to Suki, beckoning the younger girl to pour more in.

Asami rolls her eyes as she takes a big gulp of her beer. “June, your last relationship was with a woman. You’re gay. Deal with it.”

“Ouch don’t bring up Claire, that’s still so _fresh_.” June groans and dramatically cups her chest as if she’s been stabbed in the heart, “okay fine, whatever. Let’s just say I am. We all know that I’d fuck anyone I think is hot so sure, let’s just call it gay.”

“Well, maybe you’re Pan?” Suki suggests as she rummages through Asami’s kitchen drawers, looking for a fork to eat her cheesecake.

“Ugh God no, I _hate_ cooking.” June wrinkles her nose.

“That’s not…what? _bleh_ fuck it.” Asami sighs and joins the other two girls in laughter.

“Okay enough about me and my crazy dating life! Asami, anything interesting happen at preschool this week?” June smiles wickedly.

“Stop calling it that” Asami scolds, but then hesitates. She hadn’t been able to get the Korra incident off her mind all week, and it was starting to bother her. She felt like she would be invading Korra’s privacy if she told anyone, but she also felt like she _had_ to get this off her chest; it was just becoming too much for her to keep to herself. She would just leave Korra’s name out. Taking a deep breath, she told Suki and June how she had caught a student masturbating and then heard them call out her name as they climaxed.

Asami chews her bottom lip and waits for the girls to react. June is staring at her slack jawed and wide-eyed and Suki had gasped and then covered her mouth with her hand. They look at each other for a second, before finally bursting out into ear-splitting laughter, holding onto each other to keep from falling out of the bar stools at Asami’s kitchen counter.

“Oh. My. GOD!” June roars.

“God Sami, that must have been horribly awkward! Did she catch you…catching her?” Suki asks in embarrassment for Asami.

Asami shakes her head no. “She had on her earphones and her eyes were closed. She didn’t notice me, thank God.”

June quirks an eyebrow at Asami. “Ohhhh so you stayed and looked long enough to see headphones and her eyes being closed huh? Looks like someone enjoyed the show a little more than they’re willing to admit.”

Asami shoved June’s shoulder playfully, almost knocking the girl off balance and making her laugh.

“NO, you fuckin pervert, I froze because I was shocked! That’s never happened to me before! I wasn’t looking at her like… _that._ ” Asami starts to blush, making June laugh even more.

“Oooooo Asami, you’re lyyyiiingg! Was she hot?” June snorts.

“You’re sick, you know that? She’s 17. She’s underage!” Asami smacks June on the shoulder.

“So? Oh, so it’s the age that’s bothering you, not her being a student. When’s her 18th birthday?” June smirks.

“Oh God, okay now I’m on Asami’s side, you’re starting to sound like a creep.” Suki chips in.

June snorts, “Okay okay _prudes_! I’m kidding, geez. I know Asami wouldn’t look at a student that way. Plus, she’s straight. Mostly. Well… there was that one time I caught her with-”

“JUNE. SHUT UP. NOW.” Asami yells and clamps her hand over June’s mouth.

“No wait, caught her with who!?” Suki asks with interest, cupping her hands under her chin and turning her full attention on June.

June grins, glad to have an audience and starts dramatically retelling the story of Asami’s first make out session with another woman back in college.

“Well, it starts like most of the _really_ good stories do: Half naked and in a hot tub.”

Suki squeals and Asami groans and hides her face behind her hands, glad they’ve moved on from the masturbation topic but also horrified that they’ve somehow jumped to Asami’s awkward first encounter with someone of the same sex.

As she’s cleaning up the kitchen later that night, her mind shifts back to the conversation and how June teased her about being turned on by what she had saw. Unknowingly, June had hit the nail right on the head, and Asami’s stomach clenched in panic. She knows that what she feels is wrong, but she doesn’t know how to stop it. Well… that’s kind of a lie. She has an _idea_ , but she’s not too fond of it. She’d have to stop spending so much time with Korra, and let these feelings die on their own. She would throw herself into her relationship with Mako as a distraction. She would focus on work, focus on building up her resume. She hated how these thoughts made her unhappy, but she had no choice; she had to do this. Sighing, Asami gets ready for bed in silence, sad but determined to stick to her plan.

* * *

The next two weeks are the hardest of Asami’s life, starting with the heartbreaking conversation she had with Korra on Monday, after spending the weekend holed up in her house, trying to convince herself that what she was about to do was for the best.

“Korra I think I’m gonna have to cancel the tutoring sessions,” Korra’s head snapped up from doing her homework and Asami’s heart clenched when she saw the hurt look on the girl’s face.

“It’s just that you don’t really need my help anymore.” Asami added quickly, “And you were so active in class doing the lab today, helping out your partners. My job here is done; you’re basically teaching the class yourself.” Asami smirked, hoping to ease the pain out of Korra’s expression. And it wasn’t exactly a _lie_. Korra had actually gotten so good that she spent the first thirty minutes of the session flying through the homework and then spent the rest of the time talking to Asami before running off to practice.

It had worked at first; Korra’s face began to relax and she looked down for a moment before looking back up and giving Asami direct eye contact, pinning her in place with those huge, baby blue eyes.

“Well…okay yea I guess you’re right. But can I…can I still stay here with you after class anyways? I…I like talking to you.” Korra had asked, with so much hope in her voice.

Asami almost broke then, had almost lost all the will she had last night to distance herself from Korra. But she couldn’t do this. She was scared, scared of what may happen if she stayed around Korra, scared of what she may do.

Asami tore her gaze away from Korra’s and started fiddling with the pens on her desk, pretending to organize things.

“Well actually Korra…I…I honestly don’t think I have space in my schedule for… _this_ anymore. I have a lot of new responsibilities since I became an official teacher…here.” Asami said the last part under her breath.

She wasn’t sure if Korra heard the last part and looked up to gauge the girl’s reaction. Korra’s expression made her heart feel like it had gotten sliced open.

Her jaw was clenched, and she kept swallowing, as if she was trying to hold back tears. Instead of responding, Korra gave a stiff nod and simply packed all of her stuff up and quietly left the classroom.

“Korra? Korra, wait.” Asami tried, going after her, but the door slammed in her face. She waited for a moment but Korra never came back. Asami feels a tear slip down her face and quickly wipes it away, embarrassed to be this emotional over a student.

After two weeks of awkward interactions in the classroom, avoiding eye contact with Korra, and them essentially not speaking to each other outside of class, Asami is at the end of her rope. This doesn’t feel right. It’s not fair to Korra, who has absolutely no idea why Asami is behaving this way.

After class and on the day of Halloween, Asami walks through the maze garden behind the science building and works her way to the fountain in the middle, settling down on a bench situated across from the fountain. She only has a couple of hours before she has to get ready for her dad’s Halloween ball tonight. Sighing, she gently leans her head back and closes her eyes, soaking in the sun and trying to ignore the thoughts whirling around in her head. She pops one eye open and peeks up at the twenty-foot wall of roses that makes up the walls of the maze.

She plucks a single rose off the bush and holds her arm up to inspect it, admiring the vivid red color, bringing the flower down to her nose to inhale the scent. It’s heavy and sweet and fresh.

“Asami?”

Asami is broken out of her haze by a familiar voice. She lifts her neck back up and straightens up on the bench, blinks her eyes into focus and then allows them to rest on the figure in front of her.

Korra is standing in front of her, fresh from volleyball practice. She’s holding her gym bag in one hand and her backpack in the other, wearing spandex tight shorts that stop mid-thigh and a slightly oversized, white t-shirt that has the school logo. Her hair is in a messy ponytail and she has a few cuts and bruises on her neck and face.

_‘My God, she’s so beautiful.’_

“Hey Korra. Are you…are you okay? What happened to your…” Asami gestures towards Korra’s neck and face.

Korra shrugs and gives a soft smile, “Azula was in charge of practice again today. I guess I pissed her off more than usual. I saw you coming in here and I followed you. Can I sit next to you?”

Asami nods her head stiffly and scoots over to make room for Korra.

Korra sets her stuff down on the ground in front of her and then plops down onto the bench with a sigh. Asami smirks.

“You tired?”

“I’m _exhausted_.” Korra groans, “I don’t know what I did to her in a past life to make her hate me, but Azula has it out for me, I swear. If I’m poisoned, it was her.”

“Is she really that bad? Do I need to speak with her?” Asami says in a slightly protective tone. She didn’t interact with Azula outside of class often, but she had her as a student in her AP Biology class and knew firsthand how obnoxious and cruel the girl could be. Multiple times Asami had had to scold her on how she spoke to and about other students. She couldn’t imagine what the girl was capable of outside of a school setting.

Korra smiles at her softly and shakes her head. “No, I can handle her. Besides she’s leaving this year. And most times, people only lash out at others because something is going on with them. I don’t take it personally. It’s starting to kind of hurt though.” Korra winces as she gently strokes the bruise at her neck. Asami wanted to kiss it so bad; the urge terrified her.

Instead she cleared her throat and turned away from Korra. “You’re too sweet for your own good Korra.” She mumbled under her breath. 

At that, Korra suddenly got really serious and twisted her body (as much as the bench allowed) to face Asami.

“You’ve been avoiding me. Why? What did I do?” Korra asks, with a hurt look on her face.

Asami winces and tries to look away from those intense blue eyes.

“I h-haven’t been…I’ve just been really busy. I-”

“Bullshit.”

Asami is taken aback for a moment, never having heard Korra curse before.

“Korra.” She said in a warning tone of voice.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to curse, I just…Asami…Miss Sato, what did I _do_?” Korra sounds like she’s on the verge of tears, and Asami feels a wave of guilt and despair wash over her.

“Korra what are you talking about? You didn’t _do_ any-”

“Then why won’t you talk to me? Or look at me? Why did you cancel the sessions? I liked talking to you, even if I did know how to do the work by myself and didn’t need the sessions anymore. I thought we were _friends_.” And now tears are actually falling from Korra’s eyes, and Asami has never wanted to slap herself as much as she did right then.

She rushes forward and wraps Korra up in her embrace, shushing her and rocking her back and forth.

“Oh honey, of course we’re friends. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please don’t cry.”

Suddenly Asami realized how ridiculous she was being. She had never meant to hurt Korra; she just wasn’t sure she could control herself around the girl. The last thing she ever wanted was for Korra to suffer because she couldn’t keep her own emotions in check. Asami was angry at herself for handling things this way. Korra deserved better than this.

“Shhhhhh it’s okay Honey, I’m sorry. It’s not you, I promise. It’s me. I’m going through personal stuff at home and I… I tend to distance myself when things get too…heavy. I’m so sorry Korra.” Asami coos as she gently rocks Korra back and forth while rubbing her back with her hands.

She feels Korra wrap her arms around her waist and crook her head into Asami’s neck. Asami tries not to shudder; tries to ignore how perfect this feels, how perfectly Korra fits in her arms. She inhales Korra’s scent and sighs softly.

‘ _Why does she smell so good? Like strawberries and mint and cucumber shampoo. Like summer. Like freedom’_

“Asami?” Korra whispers into the crook of her neck, and Asami barely holds back a whimper at the feeling of Korra’s hot breath against her skin.

“Hmm?”

Korra cranes her neck to look up and Asami reflexively looks down to meet her gaze. If either one of them moved a couple inches forward, they would be kissing…

“Is…Is everything okay? You said you were going through something personal?” Korra disentangles herself from Asami (much to her disappointment) but rests her hand on Asami’s knee, leaning forward slightly and waiting for Asami to answer.

Asami takes a deep breath. “Oh…ummm,” no one outside of June and her sister Suki had ever really asked if she was…okay. She wasn’t sure how to respond truthfully without making everything seem morbid and hopeless, so she would have to lie and hope Korra wouldn’t notice.

She smiled tightly, “Everything’s fine Korra, I just have this…Halloween ball to get ready for and I…don’t really feel like going I guess.” Asami shrugs.

Korra purses her lips and eyes Asami suspiciously.

“I know you’re lying but I won’t push you.” She says, a bit sadly, but then her face brightens a little. “Would you mind if I helped you get ready? You’re wearing a costume, right?”

Asami smiles, “Yes I am wearing a costume tonight, and no I wouldn’t mind if you helped me get ready.” She finished with a laugh.

Korra grinned and hopped up to grab her stuff, pulling Asami along with her.

“Thank you Thank you THANK YOU Asami, you won’t regret it. Come on!”

* * *

Asami follows (more like ‘is dragged by’) Korra all the way to her bedroom, and Korra waits patiently and closes her eyes while Asami puts her code in, causing Asami to giggle.

Once the door is open, Korra bursts into the room and spins around in a circle in the middle of the room. Asami smiles at her softly from the doorway, her heart hammering in her chest. She shuts the door quietly behind her and leans against it, watching Korra take in her surroundings.

After a minute or two of looking around, Korra turns her attention back to Asami and gives her a crooked, toothy grin. She has a playful glint in her eyes that makes Asami’s stomach churn with excitement.

“So, where’s your costume Asami?”

Asami grins and points towards her closet. Korra bounces over and throws the closet doors open, gasping in awe as she takes in Asami’s huge collection of outfits and shoes.

“Sometimes I forget that you’re a Sato, which means that you’re loaded. I _wish_ my closet looked like this.” Korra pouted at her, as if to say, ‘Life is unfair’.

_‘I can make it look like this’_ Asami wants so badly to say, _‘Just say the word and I’ll do it. Anything you want Korra. You deserve the world and I would give it to you, no questions asked.’_

“Of course, you’re dressing up as Belle. It suits you. In fact, if I had to put you as any Disney princess, it would _definitely_ be Belle. Good choice Sami.” Korra grins at her as she lays the costume on Asami’s bed, smoothing out the wrinkles. Asami’s heart lurches at the grin and how affectionately Korra had said her nickname. She can only manage a small smile in response.

“Well…are you ready to get started Princess Belle?”

“You gonna make me look beautiful, Ms. Waters?” Asami teases.

Korra gives her a soft, sincere smile. “You already look perfect Asami.” She says casually, as if it was obvious, and grabs her wrist, pulling her towards the bathroom. Asami feels a tug in her lower region and inwardly groans as she feels her body start to heat up.

_‘Holy shit, what is she doing to me’_

The next two hours are a blur. Korra has Asami seated on a stool in front of the bathroom mirror as she floats around her, fussing over her hair and carefully applying her makeup.

Sometime during all this, Korra had begun talking about her mother.

“I used to help her get ready for Halloween literally _all_ the time, except she never liked to look cute or sparkly like a normal parent. No, she liked blood and gore, which I guess makes sense, being that she was a Trauma Surgeon. I know how to do fake gashes and cuts really good because of her; I can make them look really real! Maybe next year I can show you? Or…if you’re free tomorrow? I don’t know, I mean, I know you usually don’t stay on the weekends but if you wanted to, I-”

“I’m free tomorrow.” Asami cuts in, grinning widely, touched that Korra feels comfortable enough around her to talk about her mother. She’s actually not free; movie date with Mako, but she doesn’t care about canceling that. She’d much rather spend the afternoon with Korra. Much, _much_ rather. Relief washes over Korra’s face and she beams at Asami and then continues putting on her blush.

“Okay then, it’s a date!” Korra says without thinking, but then blushes red as tomato. “I-I mean, not like a _date_ date, just like…like as friends. A friend date? I don’t want to…I mean I’m not saying _I wouldn’t_ date you like that! I just-”

“Korra!” Asami grabs Korra’s face between her hands and wiggles her head a bit.

“You’re gonna kill yourself if you keep getting flustered like this. It’s okay I promise.” She laughs.

Korra smiles nervously and grabs at Asami’s wrists, nodding her head slowly.

“Sorry.” she whispers.

“It’s okay.” Asami whispers back and reluctantly lets go of her face. “So, we’re on for tomorrow?”

Korra nods eagerly, finishes applying the blush, and then ushers Asami into the room to put the Belle costume on, turning around to give her privacy. Asami slips the dress on and then asks Korra for help with the zipper, shivering when she feels Korra’s fingertips ghost along her lower back. She slips on the high-heeled sandals, throws on her gloves, adjusts her tiara and finally, her look is complete.

As if on cue, she gets a text from Mako, telling her he’s here at the side gate.

She does a couple of spins for Korra, who’s looking at her as if she’s the only thing, the only person in the world that matters. Asami feels her heart swell.

“You’re probably gonna hear this a million times tonight Miss Sato, but you look…beautiful.” Korra says the last word almost under her breath. Without thinking, Asami reaches forward and cups Korra’s cheek, rubbing her finger back and forth along her cheekbone. Korra grabs her wrist and leans into her hand, her eyelids fluttering shut, her breathing getting a tad bit shallow.

Something about the moment is so perfect, so intimate, and Asami is staring at Korra’s lips and they’re pulling her forward, like a moth to a light. Korra’s eyes are still closed, and she’s so close and she smells so good and her lips look so soft. So full. Almost… _there_ …

Suddenly her phone rings, causing Asami to jump up and snapping her out of the moment. She hastily removes her hand from Korra’s face and rushes to answer her phone.

“Hello?” Asami whispers into the phone, breathlessly.

“Babe come on. Where are you? I texted you five minutes ago.”

Mako whines.

Asami rolls her eyes. “Okay here I come. I had to use the bathroom.” She hangs up before he can respond.

“…my ride is here.” She says hesitantly to Korra, turning back around slowly.

Korra grins and bows dramatically, “Well then, off you go my fair maiden. Adventure awaits!”

Asami laughs, “Okay…okay then. I’ll see you, tomorrow right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world” Korra giggles. They both exit the room and head down the stairs, Korra on her way to the living area and Asami on her way to exit the building.

“Goodbye Miss Sato” Korra winks at her and blows a kiss.

Asami pretends to catch it and put it on her cheek.

“Goodbye Korra.”

She floats out of the building and into Mako’s truck, giving him a half-hearted kiss on the cheek and buckling her seatbelt. He’s dressed as Bob the builder, which is essentially just jeans, a fitted t shirt and a tool belt hoisted around his waist. _So creative._

He immediately starts ranting about how difficult his day was at work and Asami tries her hardest to feign interest, her mind still stuck on the late afternoon and evening she had just spent with Korra.

* * *

The ballroom is vast, with cream-colored walls that go up and connect in a dome above their heads, a beautiful mural in the center of the dome. There is a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, lighting the ballroom floor up in a warm, soft yellow hue. Classical music is playing, drifting from speakers hidden behind the plush, deep red curtains draped over the walls. Asami descends down the huge staircase into the party, sliding over the intricately carved banister with one gloved hand and holding onto Mako’s arm lightly with the other. She puts a practiced, gentle smile on her face as people gather at the foot of the stairs to greet her. She _hates_ this.

_‘I hate these fuckin balls. I hate charity events. I hate fundraisers. I hate it here. I hate everything about these people and their money and their fancy cars and-’_

“Asami Darling, oh you look absolutely gorgeous! The spitting image of Yasuko in her prime.”

Asami is cut off in the middle of her brain rant by an older, silver-haired, regal looking woman, who is dressed as Maleficent. She inwardly cringes at the mention of her mother by someone who very much so did not like her while she was alive, and in fact was probably smiling at her funeral. And what the fuck did she mean by ‘In her prime’? _Bitch_.

“Hello Mrs. Wilson, it’s so good to see you. You look lovely as well.” Asami responds sweetly, a bright, rehearsed smile on her face. She knew it didn’t reach her eyes, and anybody that paid attention to her would be able to tell, but nobody here cared enough to pay attention. All that mattered to these people was their image, their money, their cars, their clothes, their mansions, and how to get more money to maintain the previously mentioned things. Asami was nothing more than a potential future investment, her well-being as important as a dead fly in a car’s windshield.

She exchanged a few insincere pleasantries with Mrs. Wilson, who Asami knew had had a crush on her father when they were in college and was extremely displeased with the fact that he chose Yasuko, a nobody who didn’t come from money and majored in _Public Health_ , over her. Her father eventually sidled up and gracefully pulled Asami to go chat up a few other investors, much to Asami’s relief and dismay. 

Her father had latched onto her as soon as she entered the building, eager to apologize for his behavior at the last event. It’s the first time she’s seen him since she officially accepted the job.

“Asami, I’m sorry for my… previous outburst. I love you my dear, and I just want the best for you. You know that. I accept the job that you’ve picked up if it’s what you really want I just…please consider what I’m offering you. I don’t want to lose you.”

Asami smiled softly and nodded her head, but she knew how this went. It was the same way in college when she went against him and decided to major in Biology instead of Business. He would relax on her for a bit, maybe for a couple weeks, maybe a couple of months, then he would sink his teeth into her again. Force her to go to events, force her to mingle with people she couldn’t stand, force her to learn more about running the company. She was his token, his prize, his good girl, especially since Suki openly defied him and made a point to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Taking the job was the most rebellious thing Asami had ever done, and it had nearly torn her apart to go against him. Why was it so hard for her to follow her own path?

After the ball is over, she goes into the bathroom and changes into a t-shirt, some converse sneakers, and some sweats, puts her hair in a loose ponytail, and then sneaks out the back so that she won’t be seen by anybody in her current state. She throws her duffel bag into the back of Mako’s truck and then hops in the front seat, buckling up. She turns and catches him wrinkling his nose at her in mild distaste.

“You took the dress off? I really liked it.”

It takes every ounce of self-control Asami has to not roll her eyes.

“I wanted to be comfortable.” She responds calmly.

“I can see that,” Mako retorts and then he sighs, “Hey you mind if we stop at this burger shack I saw on the way here before I drop you off? I didn’t like the food at the ball. It was bland.” Mako frowns. Asami lets out a huff of breath and nods her head. She had hoped that she could catch the last couple minutes of the scary movie-thon that her year 11 girls would be having (and maybe even see Korra again before their…friend date tomorrow), but it looks like Mako put a wrench in that.

They drive down the highway in silence, the radio playing low in the background, until Mako took the Omashu exit and stopped at the burger shack right before the exit.

“You want anything?” he asks her, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting ready to get out the car.

“You can get me a chocolate milkshake.”

“Aren’t you lactose intolerant?” He frowns at her. She sighs and this time gives into the urge to roll her eyes.

“I’ll just suffer the consequences later. I want a milkshake.”

He slams the door, grumbling about her making poor life choices recently and Asami smirks and cusses him out in her head. She’s grown tired of pretending with him. It’s getting harder and harder for her to bite her tongue when he pisses her off, and he pisses her off _a lot._

When he gets back with their food, she eagerly grabs her shake from him and makes a big show of punching the straw through the hole and taking a big, noisy slurp. He huffs at her in disgust, and she smiles sweetly at him.

He turns the radio up slightly and begins to eat his food.

“So… did you have a good time tonight?” he asks her, fiddling with the dial to adjust the radio.

Asami snorts and rolls her eyes. “Yea sure. Like you actually care if I had a good time tonight.”

“Asami what the hell are you talking about? If I asked you that clearly means I do care.”

“No, you don’t, you’re just going through the motions. But here, I’ll make it easier for you: I had a great time sweetie. _The Best_. The highlight of my night had to be getting groped by Mr. Wilson on my way to the bathroom but smiling it off like you told me to because I shouldn’t cause a scene. But enough about me dear, what about you? Did _you_ have a good time tonight?” Asami’s voice is sickly sweet, causing Mako to get red with anger.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?”

“Acting like _what_?”

“Like a spoiled brat.” Mako spits at her venomously. Asami laughs viciously and leans forward, whispering into Mako’s ear.

“Because I _am one_. Remember? I have my whole life planned out for me. It doesn’t matter how I act; I have daddy’s company to fall back on. Isn’t that why you’re with me?” Asami whispers cruelly.

They get into an argument then, probably their first real one. Asami has never had the nerve to go against anything Mako has ever said to her. She doesn’t like arguing, but lately she’s been feeling so…empty. Unsatisfied. Useless. Her life wasn’t hers to live. She realized that arguing made her feel alive, made her feel in control. As the argument went on, she could feel her heart beating faster, feel the blood pumping through her veins. She was dizzy with excitement.

Finally, Mako throws his hands up, exasperated and at the end of his rope.

“Jesus fucking Christ Asami, I give up! What do you want huh? What the fuck do you want from me?!”

Asami’s breath catches in her throat as she ponders his question. What _does_ she want? She wants excitement, adventure. She wants to plan dates and actually look forward to going on them. She’s tired of dreading every moment of her life. She’s tired of feeling dead. She wants to _live_.

Asami locks eyes with Mako, grabs the collar of his shirt and yanks him forward into a passionate kiss. He yelps in surprise but eventually starts kissing her back. After a minute, she pulls away and sucks on his bottom lip roughly.

“I want you to _fuck_ me. Right now. In your car.” She whispers against his mouth as her hand slides down his stomach and starts fiddling with the zipper of his jeans. Mako groans and weakly attempts to protest.

“Asamiii…what if someone sees us?” he pants. She grins wickedly.

“Then they get a free show.” She whispers into his ear and then nibbles on his earlobe, making him shudder. “Please baby, I _need_ you…aahhhh I need you inside of me. _Please.”_ She moans into his ear as she guides his right hand down beneath her sweats and panties, between her legs so he can feel how wet she is.

She’s shocked at how much arguing turned her on, made her feel something. Asami knows that it’s probably not healthy, but she doesn’t give a damn right now. She just wants this feeling to last.

“Fuck Asamiiii…you’re so _wet_.” Asami smirks as she feels him getting stiffer. She unzips his jeans and pulls his dick out of his boxers, leaning her head down to kiss the tip before stroking it slowly. He grunts and pushes his hips upwards, trying to help her jerk him off.

“I want you inside of me.” She lets go of his dick and climbs into the backseat, pulling her panties and sweats down around her ankles and opening her legs wide, beckoning him to join her. He curses but then gives in, awkwardly climbing to the back and positioning the tip of his hardness at her entrance.

“You’re gonna have to pull out baby, okay?” she tells him, and he nods before slowly sliding into her. Mako has never been good at sex, and even though she’s the horniest she’s ever been with him, tonight is no different. He pounds into her unrhythmically and harsh, not caring if it feels good for her. Asami feels herself starting to lose interest and she struggles to hold on to the feeling she had earlier. She tries to replay the argument that had caused all of this, but she can’t even remember why she was so upset in the first place. The spark is gone.

Her brain is scrambling for a memory that will keep her turned on when suddenly she thinks about Korra. Those big, intense, blue eyes. That lopsided grin. How her hands felt around Asami’s waist. Korra rubbing frantically between her legs, moaning Asami’s name as she came…

Asami gasps and feels a wave of wetness surge from between her legs. Mako must have felt it too, as he groans and begins to pump into her faster. She knows that this is going to be over with soon, being that Mako never lasts very long and she can feel him tensing up already. She has to act fast if she wants to cum. She snakes her hand down and rubs her clit, moaning as she feels pleasure shoot through her. She can’t stop thinking about Korra, and it’s scaring her, but not enough for her to want to stop; it feels too good to stop. Asami rubs faster, trying to beat Mako to her orgasm because she knows that as soon as he cums, it’s over, and she would never be able to.

Mako leans forward and breathes against her neck, and Asami pretends that it’s Korra instead. It’s Korra whispering into her ear about how wet Asami is for her; Korra kissing her, biting her bottom lip, grabbing onto her hip as she pumps into Asami faster and faster and faster and…

“Aaahhhhhhh KO-” Asami almost screams Korra’s name out as she cums but slaps her hand over her mouth, muffling the sound. Mako follows quickly behind her, pulling out and squirting onto her stomach, grunting like a stuck pig. Asami usually finds this super annoying but she’s too caught up in her post-orgasm haze to pay much attention to it. This is the first time she’s _ever_ had an orgasm during sex with Mako.

After they take a moment to catch their breath, Mako fetches a towel from the trunk to clean them both up. He disposes of the towel and then slides into the backseat behind Asami, wrapping her up in his embrace.

“I love you Asami.” He whispers into her hair.

“I know.” She whispers back, snuggling into his neck. They lay like that for a while, not talking.

Something was wrong with her. This isn’t…you’re not supposed to think about your student while you’re having sex with your boyfriend. Korra was so sweet and kind and gentle and full of _life_. Asami felt like such a pervert, to think about her like that, in _that_ way; for Korra to be the only reason she was even able to cum tonight.

_‘I just have to…focus on Mako. He’s good for me. He’s stable and reliable, and…Dad likes him. Maybe Mako is the best that I can do. Maybe Mako is what I deserve.’_

Asami feels tears threatening to fall down her face and musters all her strength to hold in the sobs at the back of her throat. She wouldn’t cry in front of him; she wouldn’t cry in front of anybody.

They eventually get back up to drop Asami off at the academy. When they pull up to the side gate, Asami sighs and then leans over the console to kiss Mako goodnight.

“I love you too Mako.” She whispers against his lips. It’s a lie, but she’s always been good at lying. Or maybe she hasn’t been, but most people around her don’t care enough to want to know the truth anyways. Mako isn’t any different. He smiles at her and then drives off as soon as she grabs her duffel bag and slams the car door shut, not bothering to stay and make sure she got into the building safely.

She walks briskly up the stairs and then opens the door to the year 11 house quietly, trying to sneak to her room and hoping not to run into anybody. She’s in the process of slowly closing the door so that it doesn’t make a sound when she hears a noise and jumps, turning around to locate the source.

“Hi Asami.” Korra comes out from the shadows, smirking, with her arms crossed over her chest. “Were you trying to sneak in just now?”

Asami rolls her eyes playfully. “Yes Korra, I was. Thank you for scaring the crap out of me.” Korra laughs but then clamps her hand over her mouth when Asami’s eyes widen and she puts her finger over her mouth.

Asami giggles softly, “You know, I’m starting to think that you stay up late and wait for me _on purpose_ just so you can scare me as soon as I get back. Let me guess, you just so _happened_ to be getting water again?” Asami teased.

Instead of teasing back like Asami expects her to, Korra gets really nervous and rubs the back of her neck.

“Well uh…actually that’s kind of…true? I wait up for you on nights when I know you’re gonna be out late to make sure you’re…okay when you get back. Is that…is that weird? Do you want me to stop?” Korra looks up earnestly and Asami feels her chest fill up with a strange warmth.

“No that’s not weird at all Korra. It’s…thank you. Sometimes I feel like nobody really cares about me.” Asami whispers. Korra’s eyebrows knit together as she frowns.

“Hey don’t say that. Of course, people care about you. _I_ care about you. We’re…we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Oh Korra…” Asami can’t help herself. She drops her duffel bag to the ground and wraps her arms around Korra’s neck, puling Korra’s body flush against hers in a tight embrace. Korra instantly wraps her arms around Asami’s waist and nestles her face into Asami’s neck.

“Yes, we’re friends. I’m so happy to have you in my life.” Asami murmurs.

She feels Korra grinning against her neck.

“I’m happy to have you in mine.” She whispers while rubbing little circles on Asami’s lower back. Asami’s breath hitches in her throat and she bites back a whimper.

Korra pulls away suddenly and then frowns.

“Crap, I also meant to tell you that I have to reschedule tomorrow. I promised Kya I would go with her to beach day like two weeks ago and she’d kill me if I tried to cancel.” Korra sighs.

Asami is disappointed but tries her hardest not to let it show. 

_‘Welp…good thing I forgot to cancel that date with Mako.’_

“Oh, ok yea sure. No problem. When would you wanna…reschedule? Or if you don’t know yet that’s-”

“Sunday,” Korra cuts in, answering her immediately, “I can do Sunday. Can you? Please say you can.”

Asami grins. “Sundays’ perfect.” She tries to ignore the butterflies that have been in her stomach since she started talking to Korra.

“Okay…okay cool. I guess I’ll…I’ll see you Sunday. Goodnight Asami.” Korra grabs her hand and squeezes it before heading for the stairs.

“Goodnight Korra.”

She watches Korra bounce up the spiral staircase and then peer her head over the railing before going into her room.

“Also, you should wear sweats more often. I like them on you.” Korra grins and sticks her tongue out, then disappears into her room before Asami can say anything back.

Asami blushes and grins stupidly at the place where Korra had just stood. She quickly picks up her bag and then walks swiftly to her room. She throws the bag on the ground next to her bed, planning to deal with it tomorrow morning. She quickly wipes her makeup off her face, brushes her teeth, and then kicks her shoes off, flopping down face first onto her bed.

She’s almost asleep when her phone pings, telling her that she just got an email. She considers just ignoring it until the morning, but something encourages her to check. To her surprise, it’s an email from Zhu Li, asking if she can substitute as a supervisor for the year 11 girls for the beach field trip tomorrow; Kurvira had caught a cold and didn’t feel well enough to go anymore. Zhu Li said that she could bring friends if she wanted to.

Asami smiles. _‘Looks like I’ll be seeing you tomorrow after all Korra.’_ Asami thought happily, but then frowned. She still hadn’t canceled her date with Mako. She could probably just bring him along with her on the field trip with her, but she cringed at the thought of Mako being in the same space as Korra.

She texted June and Suki, asking if they wanted to go. June responded immediately, complaining that her most recent fuck buddy had randomly canceled on her and now her weekend was wide open. Asami rolled her eyes and sent a middle finger as a response. Suki responded a saying she had plans with her husband, Sokka, but that she would catch up with them later.

_‘I should really invite Mako…right? I mean…I am trying to work on the relationship and spend more time with him. It’d be weird to not invite him, wouldn’t it?’_

Grunting in frustration, Asami hurriedly typed out the invitation, apologizing for canceling the movie date but inviting him to the beach instead. She throws her phone down and turns away from it, hoping that he doesn’t get the message until it’s too late, or that maybe he’ll decline and just cancel the date altogether.

Asami’s phone goes off almost instantly, and she checks it timidly, scared to see the response.

‘I’d love to. See you tomorrow babe.’ Mako responds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YIKES. I am so sorry, I did not mean to not update for a week, my mom pulled a wild card and randomly got inspired to renovate the damn house, so I’ve been really busy helping out and then I have to move into my school apartment so it’s just been…HECTIC! So, so sorry! Also, I realize that I haven’t really done a good job explaining the surroundings and kind of just dove straight into the character’s story, so I’m really going to try to work on that. Like I’ve been so caught up in my own imagination and not being able to see outside my own box, I just realized that you guys probably have no idea how the academy even looks, and…idk I just wanna be more descriptive, I feel like it makes for a better read. I won’t go back and re-describe everything, but from here on out, I’ll really try to slow down and add more details to the surroundings, so that the story is more vivid. :)>


	7. Sports-Beach Bunny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and her friends head to the beach for a field trip with their brother school. She struggles to keep her jealousy under control when meeting Asami’s boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Tell me baby, why do you seem so blue~

~Korra~

“Koorraaa. Korra come on, wake up sleepyhead.”

Korra groans and reluctantly pops one eye open to find Kya grinning down at her.

“It’s beach daaayyyyy! Come on, I wanna see you in the bikini we picked out last weekend!”

Propping herself up on one elbow, Korra rubs the sleep out of her eyes and pouts at Kya.

“Kya do I really have to go? I don’t feel like…human interaction today. Plus, boys make me uncomfortable. What if they’re all weirdos?” Korra frowns.

Korra hates that she had to cancel her plans with Asami to spend her day being ogled by smelly, horny teenage boys, but she promised Kya weeks ago and nothing was worse than a grumpy Kya. _Nothing_. On top of that, Jinora was dying to introduce Korra to her boyfriend Kai, so she really had no choice.

“Korra get up and put on your swimsuit before we miss the damn bus! Now!”

Korra grunts in defeat as Kya yanks the covers off of her and shuffles to the bathroom to wash up and change into her bikini.

She puts her hair up in a messy ponytail and puts on some small stud earrings. She’s applying sunscreen as she walks out the bathroom and Kya stops packing their bag to laugh at her.

“What the hell is so funny?” Korra snaps, still irritated that she had to spend the day at the beach instead of with Asami.

“Your sunscreen is making you look ashy, you dork. You have to rub it in.” Kya giggles and goes over and helps Korra rub the product in.

“Uuuggghhhh I hate the beach!” Korra says in frustration.

“Must’ve been really hard for you growing up, with a last name like Waters.” Kya nods her head in mock sympathy.

“Oh haha. Fuck you.” Korra retorts making Kya laugh.

“Ooo I love it when you cuss. So feisty! Come on, let’s go! I packed the bag already.” Kya says, smacking Korra on her ass on the way out the dorm room.

Korra rolls her eyes but hurries to throw on some shorts, an oversized t-shirt and some flip flops. She’s gotten so used to Kya’s antics that the ass smack didn’t even phase her. If she had done that a couple months ago, Korra would’ve nearly died from embarrassment, but now, Kya was like a sister to her and they played around with each other like this often.

They walk quickly towards the front office building, where four buses are lined up around the fountain, ready to take the year 9,10, 11, and 12 girls to the beach. Korra spots a black truck behind the last bus, but doesn’t pay much attention to it, figuring it probably belonged to one of the maintenance people she saw mowing the lawn.

Kya spots Jinora and Opal waiting next to the bus for the year 11 girls and waves at them excitedly, before dragging Korra behind her to go meet them.

“Korra! Kya!” Opal yells excitedly, wrapping both girls up in her embrace, as if she didn’t just see them last night during the scary movie-thon.

Kya laughs and Korra pouts in irritation. Why were they so damn excited about going on this dumb field trip?

“Oooo I see someone is grumpy this morning.” Jinora teases Korra.

“I just don’t see what you guys are so excited about. It’s just the beach, we could literally go ourselves on the weekend.” Korra mumbles.

“Ummmm duh Korra. We’re going to be there with our Brother school. BOYS!?” Kya smacks Korra in the forehead and Korra hisses at her before smacking her back on the arm.

“Oh right, I forgot: You’re obsessed with anything with a dick attached to it.” Korra smirks.

“Right on the money baby.” Kya grins and puts her sunglasses on, “Hey, where’s Jessica and Tuyen?” she asks, looking around for them.

“They went home this weekend, remember?” Opal says, “It’s Jessica’s parents 25th wedding anniversary and they invited Tuyen to come celebrate with them since they’ve known each other literally since preschool. You know, I always thought they were kooky for getting married on Halloween, I mean who _does_ that? But they’re kind of like The Adams-”

Korra’s mind wanders off as Opal, Jinora, and Kya start talking amongst each other. She scans the girls from the other years as they get lined up and ready to board the buses. She spots Azula boarding the year 12 bus, followed closely by her minions, Ty Lee and Mai.

_‘Please God, let her leave me alone today.’_

As she’s turning back around, she spots a tall, lean but muscular, handsome man with amber eyes walk out of the front office and hop into the black truck.

_‘Oh okay, maybe he’s not maintenance.’_

Something makes Korra turn her attention back to the year 11 bus and her heart nearly falls out of her chest.

Asami hops off the last step of the bus and pushes her sunglasses off her face, resting them on top of her hair. She’s wearing a white sundress that stops right above her knees and Birkenstocks with white straps and beige colored soles. Korra can see the straps of her black swimsuit underneath the dress and the sight makes her shiver. Asami checks something on a clipboard that she’s holding and then suddenly looks up, catching Korra’s gaze. She gives Korra a bright smile and waves happily, making Korra blush. Korra smiles cheekily and waves back, causing Kya, Jinora, and Opal to look up from their conversation to see who Korra was waving at.

“Oh. I didn’t know Miss Sato was gonna chaperone, I thought Coach Kurvira was in charge of us.” Jinora states.

Kya shrugs, “Guess Coach couldn’t make it,” and then grinning slyly, “Heyyy, at least now we get to see Miss Sato in a swimsuit. Fuck, I hope she’s wearing a bikini.”

Korra chokes on her spit and has a coughing attack, and Kya smacks her repeatedly on the back, laughing.

“Was that thought too much for you Korr? Sorrryyyy.”

“I can’t stand you.” Korra chokes out, still trying to get her breathing under control.

“Then sit down.” Kya quips.

Korra opens her mouth to make a retort but stops immediately when she sees Asami walking towards them, smirking. Korra tried to ignore the way her legs looked in the sundress, how shiny her hair looked today, how her perfect little nose crinkled as she smiled at them playfully.

“Were you guys talking about me?” Asami teases.

Kya puts on her innocent act and bats her eyelashes dramatically. “We were Miss Sato, but I promise it was all good things. Korra here just started getting choked up talking about how beautiful you looked today.”

Korra whipped her head around and gave Kya the most intimidating glare she could muster, but Kya only tilted her head and smiled back sweetly.

“Is that true Korra?” Asami asks her, and Korra glances up at her nervously before answering.

“What?! N-no I wasn’t, I… Kya said…made a dumb joke and I started…I didn’t…” Korra couldn’t get a full sentence out and started turning red, while the other girls giggled behind her.

Asami laughed and grabbed her shoulder.

“Korra sweetie, it’s okay. I’m just teasing you, God you’re so easy to make nervous.” She squeezes her shoulder gently before dropping her hand back to her side.

“Okay ladies, you guys have your sunscreen, water, and beach towels?”

“Yes Miss Sato” they all respond at the same time.

“Oh, and money? Do you guys have money? We’re gonna eat at the food trucks on the beach.”

They all nod their heads yes and Asami smiles. “Well then, let’s get this show on the road. After you ladies.”

The girls start walking towards the bus, Jinora and Opal taking the lead and Kya playfully shoving Korra out of the way to get in front of her. Korra shoves her back and they break out into a play fight as they continue walking.

“Hey! Girls, play _nice_!” Asami yells at them.

“Sorry Miss Sato!” Kya yells back, then turns to Korra and sticks her tongue out.

“Bitch.” Korra whispers into Kya’s ear, hopping onto the bus steps and heading towards the back while laughing at Kya’s fake shocked expression.

“I’m gonna make you pay for that.” Kya says, flopping down in the seat next to Korra.

“You started it, Kya.”

“Okay and now I’m gonna end it. Watch your back…bitch.” Kya grins and then turns to focus her attention on Jinora and Opal, who are asking her where she got her bikini.

Korra grins, both anxious but thrilled at the challenge Kya just threw at her and turns her head to scan out the bus window.

She notices that the tall, amber-eyed man is now leaning against the back of his truck. She sees the scene play out in slow motion: Asami walks over towards him and they exchange a few words before she stands slightly on her tippy toes and plants a quick kiss on his lips, but apparently that’s not enough for the man. He pulls her back in as she’s pulling away, cupping the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair, and kissing her deeply.

Korra feels as if all the air has been sucked out of her lungs and suddenly feels nauseous. She’s so caught up her in own world of pain that she didn’t even notice Kya had also seen the kiss and was now hurriedly reaching over Korra to yank down the window and scream at the couple.

“WHHHEEEWWWWIIIEEE THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT!!! GET SOME MISS SATO! AND HE’S HOT!? YOOOWWWWW!!” Kya screams, causing the whole bus to turn their heads to see what all the commotion was about.

Korra sees Asami whip her head around and blush bright red, while the man laughs and shakes his head gently, gripping her waist to keep her body against his. She sinks down into her seat out of eyesight and tries to fight the onslaught of tears she feels about to fall out of her eyes. The whole entire bus erupting into cheers and wolf whistles definitely isn’t helping, but at least no one would notice her reaction.

She felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest and ran over by an 18-wheeler truck.

_‘Why are you so upset? You knew she most likely had a boyfriend after that date she went on the other night. Asami was probably straight...And her teacher…And years older. You literally don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with Asami.’_

Korra sank deeper and deeper into her thoughts, barely even registering that the bus had begun to move. She hated how much this hurt her. She sulked in silence for a while until finally Kya seemed to notice that something was up.

“Korra bear what’s wrong? Why are you so quiet?” Kya asks, her voice full of genuine concern.

Korra sighs. She doesn’t really feel like lying but she’s definitely not telling anyone what she’s _actually_ upset about. She honestly just doesn’t feel like talking at all.

Shrugging, Korra tells Kya she’s just having a mood swing and she’ll get over it soon. She turns to stare back out her window, hoping that Kya will just leave her alone, but she should know better than that by now. She feels Kya staring at her until she suddenly feels a pinch on her thigh. Korra squeals.

“Heeyy, stop that!” Korra yells.

“Or what? What are you gonna do about it, dork?” Kya sneers at her and pinches Korra again. Eventually the pinching turns into tickling and Korra is dragged out of her sour mood, giggling uncontrollably as she tries to evade Kya’s attacks.

Korra would never tell Kya this (it would go straight to her head and she would never let Korra forget about it), but she was really glad that Kya was her roommate and best friend. She could always tell when something was wrong with Korra and never forced her to talk about it, but instead would help Korra take her mind off of it. She spent the rest of the bus ride giggling and gossiping with her friends. By the end of the bus ride, she was had almost completely forgot about Asami and her stupid, annoyingly handsome boyfriend. _Almost._

But as luck would have it, Korra spots them as soon as she exits the bus. They’re walking from the man’s truck towards the bus, and they’re holding hands, and Asami is laughing at something that he just said. Korra rips her eyes away from them, anger and hurt bubbling up in her chest, but it’s not directed at them; it’s mostly towards herself. For feeling this way about her _fucking_ teacher, for being this hurt over someone she had never even been involved with. She felt absolutely _pathetic_.

She’s not allowed to dwell on it for too long however, as Kya jumps down from the last bus step and eagerly begins dragging her towards the ocean, hoping to find a good spot on the beach before it gets too crowded.

“Ooooo okay, this spot right here is perfect! Korra, help me set the blanket up. Jinora, Opal, you guys are on beach umbrella duty! Find some good ones! Let’s go people, let’s go!” Kya bosses them around as she stoops to grab the big blanket out of her bag and unfolds it.

Jinora and Opal sigh and shake their heads, walking away to hunt for umbrellas to use for shade. Korra reaches down and grabs one end of the blanket and is about to straighten back up when she feels a presence behind her and then is suddenly being shoved to the ground.

She glances up in confusion to find Azula staring down at her and smirking evilly. Ty Lee is to her left, looking a tad bit anxious and remorseful, while Mai is to her right, with a blank, bored expression on her face.

“Azula, what the fuck is wrong with you?!” Kya yells, causing Korra to wince.

_‘Shit, this isn’t gonna end well.’_

“Why, I’m claiming my territory silly. Duh.” Azula rolls her eyes as if the answer was obvious. “This is our spot. We always sit here and as Seniors we have priority.” Azula is looking at Kya as if she’s challenging her. Korra gulps.

“That’s bullshit and you know it. Go find another spot, we were here first.” Kya spits at Azula.

“Kya come on it’s fine. We can just leave, it’s no big deal.” Korra tries to calm her friend down.

“I’m not _fucking_ leaving Korra.” Kya growls.

Azula tilts her head and pouts. “Awwww look at you. So strong and brave for your new little girlfriend. It’s really too bad you couldn’t do the same for…what was her name? The little dyke girl that was your roommate? Oh right… _Lin_.” Azula has a fake look of sympathy on her face as she continues taunting Kya.

“So sorry about what happened by the way. I had no idea her parents were so homophobic; I would have _never_ told them about you two. I genuinely thought they would be _happy_.”

Kya loses it at that and lunges for Azula. Korra squeaks and jumps in front of her, holding her back. She yells to Jinora and Opal for help, who instantly come running back.

“Kya come on. She’s not worth it. Let’s just find another spot, come on” Korra tries to soothe her, but Kya’s face is flushed, and she has tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Fuck you Azula! I _hate_ you! I hate you!” Kya screams, still struggling to get out of Korra’s grasp. Jinora rushes up and helps Korra pull Kya away while Opal quickly gathers up their stuff and shoots Azula a hateful glare.

Azula simply laughs and tuts. “So _emotional_.” She sneers, flipping her hair and getting to work setting up ‘her’ spot.

* * *

The girls eventually find a spot far on the other side of the beach. To Korra’s dismay, the spot gives her a _perfect_ view of Asami, her boyfriend, and a pale lady with straight black hair, purple eyeshadow and black lipstick. She accidently stares for too long and Asami looks up from a book she was reading and catches Korra’s gaze. Asami grins broadly and starts to wave, but Korra quickly looks away, the memory of Asami being kissed and held by her boyfriend still fresh and painful for her.

Korra and Opal get to work setting up while Jinora sits down on the sand and soothes Kya, who is still sobbing uncontrollably.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Korra whispers to Opal as they straighten out the giant blanket and then go off to scavenge for the beach umbrellas to hold the blanket down and give them shade.

Opal has a really sad look on her face and sighs softly. “Well…she’ll calm down eventually but… I don’t’ know if she’ll ever really be _okay_.”

Korra frowns. She’s not entirely sure exactly what happened between Kya and this Lin person, but she knows that it must have been extremely traumatic for Kya and that Azula was the main cause for the trauma (aside from the homophobic parents of course). She won’t pressure Kya to tell her anything, but she’s really eager to know exactly what happened now. Especially if it had that big of an effect on Kya. It bothers her that she can’t comfort her friend the way Kya was able to easily comfort her earlier.

When Opal and Korra return with the umbrellas and a few bottles of water that they bought from a food truck, Kya has calmed down considerably and is now laying on the blanket, looking exhausted. To Korra’s horror, three boys have also set up camp next to them, and one is in the middle of talking to Jinora. When he leans in and kisses her, it suddenly clicks into place.

Green eyes, brown skin, fluffy brown hair with the sides shaved a bit. So, _this_ was the infamous Kai that Jinora was always rambling about. Korra assumes that the other two boys must be his friends. Her theory is proven correct when Opal walks up and Jinora (Still blushing from her kiss with lover boy) introduces the three boys as Kai, Bolin, and Kuzon.

Korra smiles softly and waves. The pale, buff boy with green eyes and black hair that Jinora introduced as Bolin smiles back sweetly at Korra, but as he’s about to say hello, his breath hitches in his throat when his eyes land on Opal. Korra swears she sees his pupils dilate. She glances at Opal to see her reaction and can tell immediately that Opal likes him too.

She rolls her eyes as the two awkwardly greet each other and attempt to start a conversation. Her attention shifts to the other boy. He’s tall; really tall actually, with light brown skin and grey eyes. Korra had never met anyone with grey eyes before. His hair is black and long enough for him to put into a little ponytail at the top of his head, and he’s muscular. Like… _really_ muscular.

_‘Jesus, what’s his workout plan? I want in.’_

_“_ Hey I’m Kuzon. It’s nice to meet you.” He extends his hand out for a handshake. Korra grips it firmly, finding his hands to be surprisingly soft for a boy.

“Korra. Nice to meet you too.” He smells…kind of good too. Clean and fresh, like laundry right after you take it out of the dryer.

_‘Maybe boarding schoolboys are just better at hygiene and manners than public schoolboys.’_

Korra somehow ends up having a conversation with Kuzon and finds that he’s also surprisingly easy to talk to. They’ve both sat down next to Kya, with Korra rubbing her back every now and then as she talked, just to let Kya know that she was still there. Kuzon was funny, but not in a “I claim to have a dark sense of humor but I’m really a racist douchebag” kind of way, but actually really funny. He never made Korra feel uncomfortable and she found that all of her responses and interactions with him were genuine. She could see herself being close friends with Kuzon.

Eventually Kya sat up and stretched, then leaned over to hug Korra, whispering thank you in her ear. She leaned up and introduced herself to Kuzon, then stood up and brushed the sand off of her, stating that she had to make a quick phone call.

* * *

“So, you know how to surf?” Korra asks in amazement.

Somehow in the twenty minutes that Kya had left them, they’ve landed on the topic of surfing and Kuzon smirked at her as if what she was asking was obvious.

“You mean you couldn’t tell by the giant surfboard I have by my blanket?” Kuzon teases.

Korra laughs and swats at his shoulder. “I obviously didn’t notice dingus. How long have you been surfing?”

“All my life really. My dad taught me. I can…there aren’t any good, big waves today, but I can show you how to balance on the board if you want?” Kuzon asks shyly, a slight blush on his cheeks.

Korra grins, excited. She usually doesn’t like the beach, but she’s always admired surfers from afar. It’s essentially like being able to skate on water, and she _loves_ skating. She’s eager to see how it feels, to have control over an element like that.

As she stands up to take off her shirt and shorts, Kya walks back up to them smiling, looking ten times better. She lets out a long wolf whistle at Korra when she sees her in her bikini, but Korra just rolls her eyes. As she’s turning back towards Kuzon, out of the corner of her eye she notices Asami looking at her. Korra’s never seen this expression on her face before. It’s…dark and oddly intense. Asami’s eyes roam up her body and then finally land on Korra’s face. When she realizes that she was caught staring, she jumps a bit, blushes bright red and quickly looks away. For some reason, Korra feels butterflies form in her stomach.

Korra releases her hair from her ponytail, letting it cascade down around her shoulders and then grins at Kuzon.

“Okay beach boy, I’m ready. What do we do first?”

For the next hour, Kuzon teaches Korra how to properly balance herself on a surfboard. He touches her a bit more often than Korra thinks is necessary, but she doesn’t mind. She actually kind of likes it. By the end of the teaching session, she’s able to stand on the board completely by herself and can even catch a small wave without immediately toppling off the board.

Her and Kuzon drop down heavily on the sand, laughing and letting a wave roll over them.

“I know you fell off with that last one, but you actually did really good. You’re a fast learner.”

“Thanks, but it’s only because you’re a good teacher.” Korra smiles.

“Hey lovebirds! Get over here and help us make this sandcastle!” The boy named Bolin yells at them. Korra blushes and she sees Kuzon shake his head, his face slightly red too. They smile softly at each other before getting up to join the others.

They’re halfway done with the sandcastle when they’re randomly approached by Asami’s boyfriend. He ruffles Bolin’s hair, who swats his hand away, embarrassed.

“Guys, this is my older brother, Mako. Mako, this is Opal, Kya, Jinora, Kai, Korra, and Kuzon.”

Mako gives them all a wide grin. He actually has a really nice smile.

_‘Fucker’_ Korra thinks bitterly.

“You guys mind if I help you out with the castle? I was watching from afar and have some really good ideas for the layout.”

_‘Fuck no, please God no, why are you doing this to me?’_

“Of course, you can!” Everyone says enthusiastically, sealing Korra’s fate. _‘I hate my life.’_

Mako gets to work helping them, and Korra hates to say it, but he actually has a really cool vision for how the sandcastle should be built and splits up tasks for everyone to do to really get things going. Korra and Kuzon are in charge of bringing back ocean water in a bucket and forming the sand bricks, leaving them in a neat pile for the others to pick up and place.

Of course, Asami eventually comes over with her friend, who she introduces as June. She asks if she can help out and Mako assigns her to help Korra and Kuzon with the sand bricks. Before Asami can walk over to them, Korra immediately gets up, mumbling about getting more beach water. Kuzon nods and smiles up at her. She takes her time getting the water, walking back slowly. Asami has started helping Kuzon form the bricks and Korra settles down next to them, quietly getting back to work. More often than not she feels Asami staring at her but ignores it.

They eventually finish the sandcastle (which is more like a sand empire at this point) and step back to admire their work when suddenly a volleyball comes flying over them, landing right in the middle of the empire and toppling it down.

“Awwww man what the HECK!” everyone starts groaning and complaining, looking around for the source of the volleyball attack. Not surprisingly, Azula saunters up to them, a fake expression of sorrow and guilt plastered on her face. Korra feels Kya tense and grabs her hand, rubbing her thumb back and forth over Kya’s knuckles soothingly.

“Oh, my goodness, I am SO sorry! We got a little carried away.”

“The court is literally all the way over there, how’d the ball even get this far?” Bolin asks sincerely, not seeming to know that Azula purposely ruined their creation.

Azula shrugs, “Physics I guess.” Azula turns to Korra, looking her up and down with a weird expression on her face. She seems lost for a moment before quickly shaking herself out of it and then smirking. “Say, would you guys be up for a little match? Teams can be Co-Ed.”

“No.” Korra says immediately, causing Azula to raise her eyebrows in surprise. Korra has never been directly confrontational with Azula, but after what she saw today, she knew she had to change that.

“I think it’d be fun Korra. You can play against me. Unless of course, you’re scared you might _lose_.” Kuzon teases her, rubbing his shoulder slightly against hers in a challenging manner. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Asami stiffen and purse her lips, then look away.

“You know what…okay fine. You’re on.” She sticks her tongue out at Kuzon and he laughs good naturedly.

“Oh Goodie! Guess that means you’re on my team handsome.” Azula coos, batting her eyelashes at Kuzon. Korra wrinkles her nose in disgust.

She thought about whether it would be better for Azula to be on her team or on the opposing team but quickly realized just being around Azula was dangerous, no matter what side she was on. Besides, if Korra was on the opposite team, she could probably exact a little revenge. She knew playing in the sand wasn’t Azula’s forte, plus had been studying her during practice and knew some of her weak spots. She smiled at the thought of pissing Azula off. She quickly throws her shorts and shirt back, but leaves her shoes off, knowing they’ll just get in the way.

_‘It’s what she deserves.’_

The game starts off smoothly, with Korra aiming every spike at Azula, making sure it hits her weak spots to throw her off balance and make her trip over herself. Korra’s team wins the first set easily, much to Azula’s annoyance. She looks over at Kya and sees her grinning, but Kya rolls her eyes once she realizes Korra caught her. Korra fixes her ponytail and decides to get rid of shirt, finding the shirt too big and wanting to have more refined movements for the next game. As she’s waiting at the net, Azula approaches her, directing an angry, hate filled glare at Korra.

“I know what you’re up to _bitch_ , and you won’t get away with it. Watch your back.” Azula snaps at her venomously.

Korra simply shrugs and smiles innocently, “Honestly, ‘Zula I have no idea what you’re talking about. Good game though.” Korra leans forward and purrs in her ear, a sudden wave of confidence washing over her. She’s beating Azula’s ass on the court, and they both know it.

Azula’s breath hitches in her throat and she licks her lips, her eyes darkening slightly. Korra sees goosebumps start to rise on her skin and tilts her head in confusion.

_‘Why is she reacting like that? Hmph, I should tease her more often; throw her off her game.’_ Korra smirks and walks away to her position, getting ready for the second round to start. Korra is still targeting Azula and her team is winning the second round, when suddenly tragedy (or Azula) strikes.

She’s getting ready to spike the ball when she suddenly trips over something. As she’s falling, she realizes that it’s Azula’s sandal. She’s barely able to toss the ball over the net before she lands on her back with a hard thud. She sits dazed for a minute but quickly tries to get back up, realizing the other team kept the ball in motion and is preparing to return it. Just as she’s about to stand, she sees Azula hop up and spike the ball as hard she can directly at Korra’s face. The last thing Korra sees is Azula’s smug smirk before she blacks out.

* * *

“Korra honey wake up! Wake up Korra, please come on. Wake up.”

Korra’s eyelids flutter open, and she looks up to see Asami leaning over her, cradling her head in her lap and looking down at her with a worried grimace on her face. Korra smiles softly.

_‘Is that…is someone yelling in the background? Jesus they’re so…loud.’_

“So, did we win?” She croaks and smiles even wider when she sees relief wash over Asami’s face.

Asami chuckles and tucks a strand of hair behind Korra’s ear. “God I can’t stand you.”

“Well it’s a good thing you’re sitting down huh?” Korra teases, repeating Kya’s joke from earlier. Asami rolls her eyes.

“Can you walk?”

Korra nods.

“Do you want me call an ambulance?”

Korra shakes her head no.

“Can you…do you wanna sit with me for a little while then? Just so I can keep an eye on you?”

Korra grins, “Sure.”

She knows that she was mad at Asami earlier, but for the life of her, she can’t remember _why_.

Asami grabs her hand and pulls her up, leading her over to where her blanket was set up. Her friend June sat there waiting for them, a concerned expression plastered across her face.

“Jesus fuck, that little harlot just tried to kill you. You alright babe?” June asks Korra.

Korra nods her head and shrugs, “I lowkey humiliating her, guess I pushed one too many buttons.”

“No, she had it out for you from the start. I’ve noticed her eyeing you all day, trust me. I know an angry, closeted lesbian when I see one.” June smirks.

“June!” Asami yells, “Zip it.”

June giggles and stands up, dusting herself off. “Fine mom, you win. I’m gonna go to the food truck to get some grub. Oh, and hot stuff, your friends went off to go calm that one girl down. She tried fight the closet lezzy after she knocked you out. They said meet them at the food truck when you feel better.”

_‘Oh so that’s where the yelling came from earlier.’_

Korra blushes at June calling her ‘hot stuff’ but nods and smiles. As she walks away, Korra turns to Asami, who is shaking her head but smiling.

“How long have you guys been friends?” Korra asks.

“Since junior year in high school. This guy was dating both of us at the same time. I cried when I found out, but June sent me a video of her beating him up. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Korra snorts, “Yea that sounds like something she would probably do based off the vibes I felt.”

Asami grins at her. “Well…have you been having a good day?”

“You mean before Azula almost killed me?”

Asami laughs and Korra feels her stomach knot up. “Yes Korra, before that.”

“It was pretty good actually. I learned how to balance on a surfboard.”

Asami’s grin falter a bit, “Yea I know. I saw you.” She says as she slides her sunglasses down her face, covering her eyes.

“Ahhhh so you’ve been watching me?” Korra grins mischievously.

“I’ve been watching everybody, Korra. I’m the chaperone, you’re not _that_ special.” Asami rolls her eyes.

Korra laughs and looks down at the book Asami was reading.

“The Lovely Bones?” Korra asks her.

“It’s my favorite book.” Asami shrugs nonchalantly.

Korra puts on a mock concerned expression and reaches out to gently grasp Asami’s hand.

“Jesus Asami…is everything okay at home.”

“Oh, shut up! It’s just a good, really well-written book.” Asami laughs, shoving Korra’s hand away.

They spend the next few minutes making small talk when suddenly Korra notices Kuzon approaching them cautiously.

“Hey Korra. Hey Miss Sato, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Kuzon.”

Asami returns Kuzon’s handshake and smiles gently at him. She can’t see her eyes behind the sunglasses, but for some reason Korra gets the feeling that the smile doesn’t reach them.

Kuzon turns to her, a concerned look on his face. “I just…wanted to check on you. You were out for a good minute, but everyone got a bit caught up trying to keep your friend from killing the girl that hit you.” Kuzon frowns.

Korra laughs softly. “Yea I’m good. Thanks for checking in on me.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. Besides, I would have definitely won if she hadn’t tried to kill you. Now we need a rematch.”

“What game were you playing? My team was _clearly_ getting ready to win. You’re lucky she knocked me out and saved you from such a humiliating defeat.” Korra says smugly, sticking her tongue out at him.

Kuzon laughs easily, “Well…best way to find out is a rematch. Here’s my number if you ever want to schedule one.” Kuzon hands her a piece of paper and Korra blushes slightly, reaching to take the paper away from him. Before she knows what’s happening, Kuzon gently places the paper in the palm of her hand, softly clasps onto her fingers, and brings her hand up to his mouth, kissing it delicately.

“I really hope I see you soon Korra.” He whispers against her hand before nodding and smiling at Asami and walking away. Asami returns the smile stiffly and then looks away.

After Kuzon leaves, there’s an awkward silence. She’s never been hit on this directly and for it to happen in front of Asami was weird enough, but what made it even stranger was how Asami was acting. Why did she seem so uncomfortable with the whole thing?

Finally, Korra decides to leave, not being able to stand the silence any longer.

“Okay well…I guess I’ll get going so you don’t have to be stuck on babysitting duty.” Korra mumbles as she starts standing up.

“No Korra wait.” Asami grabs at her wrist and gently pulls her back down. She pushes her sunglasses off her face again as her eyes roam over Korra’s face, her hand reaching out to touch the spot where the ball had smacked her.

“You don’t have to leave.”

“It’s okay Miss, I feel better now. It’s just a little sore. You can go back to having fun now” Korra teases her, grinning.

“I was having fun with you.” Asami whispers, so quiet Korra almost misses it.

Korra’s mind goes blank as she starts searching for a response, getting more and more flustered.

Asami notices her reaction and laughs, shaking her head. “So…are we still on for tomorrow?” she asks, gently squeezing Korra’s hand.

“Definitely.” Korra breathes.

“Okay.” Asami smiles.

"Okay, good. No, great. Awesome."

“Okay then.”

"...okay."

“Okay OKAY Korra, go back to your friends.” Asami chuckles softly.

“Okay…right uh, okay.” Korra stands awkwardly and starts walking away but then turns back around, smiling. “So, tomorrow?”

Asami grins, sliding her sunglasses back down her face and lying back on her blanket, stretching her arms out above her and then placing them underneath her head.

“I’ll pick you up at 2.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UUGGGGHHH why are we having a heat wave in California right now? Are we not suffering ENOUGH?


	8. It's Strange-Louis the Child ft. K. Flay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami spends more time with Korra. (short summary but that’s literally what happens, like that’s it lmao)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~And every single thing you do, I like~

~Asami~

“Holy… shit, Asami. How much was this car?” Korra squeals excitedly as they walk towards the Satomobile.

Asami feels an unexplainable shiver run through her upon hearing Korra curse, but still shoots a warning glance at the girl, who blushes in embarrassment and looks at her feet.

“I’m sorry for cursing, I was just…surprised. I’ve never been in a car this expensive…this _is_ your car, right?”

Asami nods, laughing. “Yes, Korra it is.”

“Whooaa.” Korra breathes, gently running her hand over the exterior.

Asami smiles, watching her. She knew she could’ve brought her regular car, really _should’ve_ brought her regular car, but she wanted to impress Korra so bad, albeit she didn’t really know...why.

_‘Yea right, Asami, you know exactly why.’_

Watching Korra with Kuzon yesterday nearly killed her, but she was more upset with herself for the effect it had on her personally. She should be _happy_ that Korra found a boy her age to date. Kuzon seemed nice and had good manners and was… _attractive_. He would be great for Korra, perfect even. So, why did the idea of them actually being together make her sick to her stomach, and not just a little, but to the point where she actually lost her breathe? And her behavior yesterday? Being so rude to Kuzon and making Korra feel awkward enough to want to leave?

_‘Get you shit together Sato; this is not how you were raised.’_

“You ready to go Asami?” Korra asks, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Asami smiles and nods, hopping into the front seat and starting the car up. They’re heading into town really quick to pick up the things Korra needs to do her gory makeup and getting lunch to go, then coming back to the academy and spending the rest of the afternoon holed up in Asami’s room. Asami hates how much she’s looking forward to having Korra alone and in her room.

As they drive into town, Korra chatters excitedly about how she should go about creating Asami’s look.

“Okay so what kind of injury are we dealing with here? You want a face injury, neck injury, stomach injury? I can really do anything.”

“Umm…let’s start with something small. Maybe like an arm injury or something?” Asami suggests, thinking that she wouldn’t be able to control herself if Korra was touching her neck or directly in her face for hours on end.

“You got it dude!” Korra winks at her and Asami snorts.

“Did you just quote Full House?”

“Yes, yes I did.” Korra sticks her tongue out at Asami and then starts fiddling with the radio. “Ooooo I love this song!”, Korra says happily as “Melt with you” by Modern English filters out from the car speakers. “Asami can we let the top down so I can feel like I’m in a music video? Pretty please?” Korra begs, pouting at Asami with big, puppy eyes.

Asami grins and presses the button to let the top down. Korra giggles, puts her sunglasses on, and quickly reaches to take her hair out of her ponytail, letting the wind blow through it wildly and throwing her hands in the air. Asami stares at her in awe for a moment before shaking her head to clear her thoughts and returning her gaze back to the road.

She hates how happy and free she feels right now; or mainly just hates that it’s all because of Korra, her _student,_ someone almost a decade younger than her. Hates how much she wants to pull the car over and kiss her senseless.

Korra starts using her phone as a microphone and belts out the lyrics horribly offkey.

“THERE’S NOTHIN’ YOU AND I WON’T DOOOOOO! I’LL STOP THE WORLD AND MELT WITH YOUUU! Come on Asami, I know you know this song!” Korra grins at her mischievously.

“Korra, you sound like a dying cat!” Asami yells over the radio, laughing.

Korra shrugs, still smiling.

“Whatever, that’s not the point! Music is for expression, anybody can sing, even the tone-deaf people. Sing with me ‘Sami. Pleeaassse?”

“…I only know the chorus…” Asami sighs, giving in and inwardly melting at Korra using her nickname. Korra throws her arms back up and shouts.

“Good! That’s the best part!”

They drove down the highway, laughing and singing at the top of their lungs. At some point, Korra leans and over starts fussing with Asami’s hair, taking it out of her hair tie and letting it cascade down her shoulders. Asami shakes her head to help it fall out of the ponytail shape, and turns around to catch Korra staring at her, blushing and turning away when she gets caught.

“What?” Asami asks.

Korra shakes her head, “Nothing you just…you look really nice with your hair down.”

Instead of answering, Asami just smiles and turns back to the road, butterflies erupting in her stomach and threatening to spill out her mouth.

Eventually they arrive at the Omashu Mall and Korra makes quick work of finding all the stuff they need at Sephora, then drags Asami to food court, sitting her down at a table before rushing off to go order their food. Korra had insisted on paying for lunch since Asami had insisted on paying for the makeup; it _was_ going on her face after all, so she should foot the bill. About twenty minutes later, Korra comes bouncing back to the table with two huge bags of food and two large drinks.

“Korra are we gonna be able to eat all that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you want something too? This is all for me.” Korra replies innocently, batting her eyelashes and tilting her head.

Asami rolls her eyes, “Haha funny. What did you get?”

“I got sushi and ramen! Now come on, let’s go before the ramen gets cold!”

* * *

“Okay now hold very still. This might be kind of cold.” Korra says softly as she applies glue to the prosthetic gash and presses it firmly against Asami’s arm. Asami shivers, but she’s almost certain that it isn’t from the cold.

Korra has them set up at Asami’s vanity mirror, boxes of take-out and makeup strewn all over the dresser. Asami is sitting on a stool, her left arm held out for Korra to work on and her right arm using chopsticks to shovel ramen and pieces of sushi into her mouth. Occasionally she would feed Korra sushi or ramen as she worked, loving how she would look up and smile at her, taking the food into her mouth before diving back in.

Korra had her phone connected to the mini speaker in Asami’s room and Asami closed her eyes as sounds of the ocean floated out into the room. Apparently, ocean noise helped Korra concentrate. Asami opened her eyes and turned her head slowly, watching Korra as she meticulously applied the makeup to her lower arm. Korra had put her hair up in a ponytail, a few dark brown strands escaping and hanging loosely around her face, softening her expression. Her nose was scrunched up and her eyes were squinted, intense. She eventually realized how long she had been staring and ripped her gaze away, instead choosing to focus on her reflection in the mirror.

_‘Get. It. Together. Asami.’_

“I just have a few things to touch up here aaaannndd…DONE! You wanna see?” Korra eagerly grabs Asami by the shoulders and shifts her arm towards the mirror so that she can see the fake gash better.

“Oh…whoa. Wow.” Asami cringes as she looks at her arm, almost scared to touch it. “It looks so…real. I can see the tendons and everything, my God.”

“You like it?” Korra asks shyly.

Asami beams up at her, “Korra it’s so good, I hate it. I keep touching it and expecting to feel pain. Your mom taught you how to do this?”

Korra nodded, “She was a special effects makeup artist for six years before she decided to go to med school. Drawing all the fake blood and gore made her really interested in the reverse process. Healing all the wounds that she would draw, but like…in real life. Or something like that. I don’t know, she was kind of kooky.” Korra laughs.

“She sounds wonderful.” Asami grins.

“She was.” Korra whispers, grinning back.

“Can I take a picture before you take it off?” Asami asks and Korra nods her head yes.

Asami hands Korra her phone and makes a silly face as Korra captures a few pictures. Asami then puts on her music playlist and they dance around the room, laughing and playing around with each other as they clean up the mess they made and take off Asami’s fake wound.

After they’re done, Korra sighs and flops onto her back on Asami’s bed. Asami hesitates for a moment, but then gives in and crawls on the bed next to her, gently turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling.

“I had a lot of fun today.” Korra says quietly, her fingers fiddling with the ends of her hair. Asami smiles and turns her head slightly to face Korra, who turns to face her at the same time.

She gently reaches over and tucks a piece of Korra’s hair behind her ear.

“I had fun today too Korra.”

Asami hears Korra’s breath catch slightly at the contact and immediately removes her hand, knowing that she probably went too far. She turns her head to look back up at the ceiling but can still feel Korra staring at her. Laying down next to her _probably_ wasn’t the best idea.

“Well… I guess I should…start getting ready for the…the living area activity tonight.” Asami says and starts getting off the bed. She stands up and brushes herself off, then turns to see Korra sitting up slowly, worrying her bottom lip as if she wants to say something but is afraid to. She looks up at Asami.

“Asami?”

“Yes Korra?”

“Do you…would you like to…UGH.” Korra leans forward and puts her face in her palms, groaning in frustration. Asami laughs and gets down on her knees in front of her. She grabs her arms gently and pries them away from her face, forcing Korra to look at her. She already thinks she knows what Korra is trying to ask her.

“I won’t bite Korra, I promise.”

“No, but you might say no, and that’s probably worse.” Korra sighs.

“Try me.”

“Can we…can we do this again? Not the makeup, I mean unless you want to do the makeup, but can we hang out again? I like… hanging out with you. You’re… you’re fun to talk to.” Korra finishes weakly, hanging her head in embarrassment.

_‘I should say no. Jesus help me; I should say no. Being around her is cruel at this point, I’m basically egging her on. I know she still likes me; I can tell by how she acted around me today. I guess that means she doesn’t like Kuzon…not like that matters! And I keep touching her…why do I keep touching her? It’s like I can’t help but touch her whenever she’s around me. Asami Sato, say NO.’_

Asami grins and takes Korra’s hands into her own, squeezing them gently.

“Of course, we can hang out again Korra. I’m free next weekend, what about you?” she says, completely ignoring the logical part of her brain that just told her to do the exact _fucking_ opposite of what she did.

* * *

“I know baby, I’m sorry. I’ve just been super busy since they officially hired me on as part of the staff. Sunday nights are the only time I’m free now.” Asami sighed, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger as she lounged on her bed. She had called Mako to tell him she had to cancel their weekend plans for the unforeseeable future.

_‘Yea that’s right Asami. Lie to your boyfriend so you can spend the weekends hanging out with your student. Really classy.’_

Ignoring the intrusive thought (even though it had a _very_ good point), she instead focused on Mako complaining to her on the other end of the phone.

“Babe come on now, the weekends are the only time I get to see you. What could they possibly have you doing that you need to stay on the _weekends_?”

“Well it’s just, now I’m in charge of _all_ the biology classes and I have to schedule a conference call with Dr. Katara about me taking over her responsibilities and it’s just a lot of work Mako, I’m sorry.” It wasn’t exactly a lie; she _did_ have a lot of extra work to do now that she was officially apart of the school. 

“Unnecessary work. I swear to God I don’t know _why_ you’re doing this or what you’re trying to prove…” Mako muttered.

Asami stiffened and kept silent, knowing that if she spoke, she would only make things worse. Mako sighed.

“Alright well…we can just work around this, I guess. Sunday nights then, instead of the whole weekend?”

She didn’t really even want to do that, but he was her boyfriend, and this is what you’re supposed to do with your boyfriend; make time for one another. She briefly wondered if her mother ever dreaded going on dates with her father, but she highly doubted it. They had been so in love, up until the very end.

_‘I’ll probably never be in love like they were.’_ Asami thought gloomily.

“Yes baby, Sunday nights.”

“Okay…okay then. I’m sorry for…saying what I said just now, I’m just…upset. And it’s gonna take some getting used to, but if this is really what you want to do, I support you Asami. I love you.”

The guilt plunged into her stomach like a knife and made her take in a sharp breath. She hated that he actually seemed to be trying to be a good boyfriend now. It made her feel even worse for lying.

Asami swallowed down the urge to change her mind. “I love you too Mako.” She breathed into her cell phone, then hung up, pressing the phone against her chest and staring up at the ceiling. She’s jolted out of her guilt trip by gentle knocking at her door. Asami hops up and strides to the door, smiling when she peers through the peephole and sees that it’s Korra.

“Sorry I’m late Miss Sato. I ran through the maze to get this for you and I got lost trying to find my way out.” Korra says breathlessly, handing her a rose from the maze wall. Korra’s cheeks are red and her hair is in her signature two messy Dutch braids. “You ready to go?” she looks up at Asami, her big blue eyes shining with excitement. Asami forgets about her guilt completely then, certain she made the right choice.

 _‘The weekends are for Korra. There’s nothing wrong with that, we’re friends. She makes me happy. I’lll see Mako Sunday nights.’_ Asami reasons with herself.

She grins at Korra, taking the rose and tucking it into her hair.

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

* * *

She spends every weekend with Korra after that, and during the week they keep up the “tutoring sessions”, which are essentially just Korra sitting on Asami’s desk, asking Asami questions about her life or telling Asami stories about her childhood. Sometimes she helps grade papers for Asami’s other classes, or checks her email for her, or reorganizes her desk, as Asami has a bad habit of letting things get a little bit messy when she’s focused on work. Korra never complains about having to clean up after her though; in fact, she seems to love it. She teases Asami about it, but Asami can tell she’s not serious.

“Oooo look at this ‘Sami, they’re looking for research assistants at UC Berkeley. A cancer cell lab.” Korra says one day, while Asami is going around the room, putting up Thanksgiving decorations. It seems as if the seasons are flying by. Asami turns her head towards her desk, her heart rate increasing as it always does when Korra uses her nickname.

“Korra, why are you looking up research positions?”

Korra rolls her eyes, “For you silly. DUH! I figured you can start applying to them after you’ve spent a couple more months teaching. I don’t know when you plan on leaving here, hopefully _after_ I graduate but still …” Korra continues talking but Asami has stopped paying attention to what she’s saying. She stares at Korra intensely, scared that if she blinked Korra might not be there anymore and she’ll wake up and realize this was all a dream.

Asami has _never_ had someone actually show this much genuine interest in her before. Even June, who was Asami’s closest friend, or her sister, Suki. They cared about Asami of course and were very vocal in their support for anything Asami wanted to do (for the most part anyways), but they never went out of their way to actually… _help_ her chase her dreams. But here Korra was, spending her afternoon browsing the internet for open research positions because of something Asami had told her months ago. Asami knew that this wasn’t just because Korra had a silly crush on her either; this was genuinely who Korra was as a person. She actually _cared_ about people.

“Earth to Asami. This is Captain Korra speaking. Can you hear me?”

Asami snaps out of her daydream and looks up to see Korra giving her that lopsided grin that she loves so much.

Asami frowns, “Korra wouldn’t you rather be doing something else? Don’t you get bored being with me every day? I’m not really that interesting…” Asami finishes a bit insecurely. She genuinely didn’t feel as if there was much to her, besides the fact that she was rich and pretty. Sure, she was smart, but she didn’t know if it was a natural talent or if years of expensive private tutors eventually made her that way. To this day, she still wasn’t sure if her grades got her into Harvard or if it was her daddy’s money, though it was most likely the latter. After her mom had died, Hiroshi had put a stop to all her side hobbies, his sole focus on molding her into his mini me, drilling the fact that she would take over the company one day into her head. Often times Asami felt more like an empty, pretty shell rather than an actual person.

“Hey don’t say that. I love spending time with you! You’re funny and kind and you’re really smart and you’ve traveled to really cool places and…wait,” Korra’s face falls suddenly, “unless you don’t…unless you want me to leave? I can leave if you want me to. Am I…am I annoying you?” Korra asks earnestly, hurt dripping from her voice.

“No of course not silly.” Asami says quickly, grinning to put Korra at ease. “Just surprised that you’d wanna hang out with someone my age is all.” Asami shrugs and goes back to hanging up a papier mache turkey.

“So…how old are you anyways?” Korra asks nonchalantly, trying to catch Asami off guard.

Asami smirks at her over her shoulder, as she steps onto a chair to hang the bird up.

"That’s for me to know and you to never find out.”

“Oh, come on, pleeease? I’ll tell you how old I am.”

“I already know how old you are Korra.” Asami snorts.

“Okay fine, can I know your birthday at least?” Korra pouts.

Asami acts as if she’s in deep thought before sighing and answering Korra.

“May 10th.”

Korra crinkles her nose as she works to figure something out and then beams at Asami.

“You’re a Taurus! That means you and I are compatible.” Korra grins, “You wanna know my sun sign?”

“You’re a Capricorn.” Asami murmurs offhandedly. She was beginning to get frustrated with this damn turkey; it wouldn’t stay taped to the wall, no matter what angle she put it up.

“How’d you know my sign?” Asami startles and stares down at Korra, who is suddenly right behind her.

_‘When the hell did she get up?’_

“Cuz I know your birthday, duh.” Asami rolls her eyes.

“Well yeah, but you had to do some extra thinking about _me_ to know my sign. Unless you’re an astrology expert.” Korra smirks.

“Not that much thinking.”

“Okay fine, what’s Kya’s sign?”

“Leo.”

“And Jinora?”

“Cancer.”

“And Opal?”

“Virgo.” Asami smirks and sticks her tongue out at Korra. Korra frowns, a slightly miffed expression on her face.

“Geez, for a minute there I thought I was special.”

Asami laughs, “You _are_ special. I just like birthdays and zodiac signs.”

“You think I’m special?” Korra asked, looking back up at Asami and smiling gently. Asami swallowed and quickly looked back to the turkey she was working on. She felt dizzy all of a sudden. And the room was kind of warm. When did the room get so warm?

“Are you gonna help me with this turkey or just stand there all day?”

* * *

“Umpph…oowwwww! God damn it, why is this is so hard?!” Asami yelps in frustration as she falls flat on her ass for the tenth time since she stepped into the skating ring. She knows she’s going to have purple bruises all over her backside the next day. She can already see a couple forming next to her knees. Why did she wear shorts? Asami rolls herself onto her front side and shakily gets on her knees, attempting to stand up.

“Hey now potty mouth! There are _children_ here, watch it!” June yells at her as she whizzes by, making Asami fall right back on her ass.

“Damn it!” she screams again.

“You need some help Miss Sato?”

Asami looks up and sees Korra smiling down at her in amused concern. Before Asami can even answer, Korra reaches her hand out and Asami clings to it gratefully, clumsily pulling herself up. Korra guides them to the skating rink exit and towards their table. Asami flops down in exhaustion and puts her head on the cool surface of the table. She hears Kya roll up to the table laughing and looks up to glare at her.

“Miss Sato, I think there’s still a piece of your butt attached to the rink floor. You want me to go get it for you?” Kya teases her.

“If I had the energy and was years younger, I would _physically_ fight you, I swear to God.” Asami snaps at Kya, but this only makes the girl burst into laughter.

“Kya, leave her alone.” Korra chimes in, although she’s also trying to hold back laughter.

“No, don’t try to defend me, this is your fault. You dragged me here.” Asami groaned.

It was the Friday before Thanksgiving holiday, and Korra had begged Asami to come with her and her friends to the skating rink before they all went home for the one-week break. She felt like it would be weird to be the only adult out on a Friday night with a bunch of teenagers so naturally, she invited June to tag along.

Worst. Mistake. Ever.

It had never occurred to her before how similar June and Kya were, but holy hell, the two of them combined were her worst nightmare. They got along _immediately_ and seemed to have formed a silent pact, intent on embarrassing Asami in every way possible, whether it was going by her super-fast to trip her up (Kya) or smacking her already sore ass as she was getting off the floor (June).

Asami came to the quick conclusion that she hated skating and would most likely never go again. Tonight, wasn’t a complete failure however; Asami had never seen Korra so giddy and happy. Watching her float around the rink made Asami’s heart soar. She would look over at Asami every now and then and give her that crooked grin that made her melt and she was always the one to help Asami back up when she fell. She had even helped Asami through the basic skate movements, gripping her hands tightly as she showed her how to maneuver around the rink. Asami can still feel Korra’s hands on her hours later.

_‘Okay…if she asked me to, I’d probably go skating again. Probably.’_

“You can just stay at the table with us Miss Sato.” Opal chimes in, smiling at her, “Me and Jinora can barely stand on our own feet, skates are an automatic no for us.” Jinora turns away from her boyfriend and nods in agreement.

“Oh, Thank God, yes I think I’ll do that.” Asami sighs in relief and bends over to take off her skates.

“Hey Korra, Kuzon asked about you. Wants to know why you haven’t hit him up yet.” Jinora’s boyfriend says across the table. All the girls “ooooo” and giggle and Korra blushes profusely, much to Asami’s dismay.

_‘Oh…so she does like him. That’s good. What the hell am I thinking, of course that’s good. That’s great.’_

“I don’t know, I’m not used to…I didn’t wanna seem desperate. Does he really want me to text him or was he just being nice?” Korra asks nervously.

“Oh my God, of course he wants you to text him, you big dumbie! He was all over you at the beach, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.” Kya smacks Korra on the shoulder and rolls her eyes. “At first, I wondered how it was possible for someone as hot as you to have never had a boyfriend, but now I get it. You’re clueless.”

“Kya!”, all the girls yell at her in union. June rolls up to the table, grinning.

“Hot stuff, you’ve never had a boyfriend? Were all the boys at your old school blind?” she teases Korra, who at this point looks like she’s about to spontaneously combust. June and Kya continue to poke fun at her for a minute until finally Kya asks if Korra even likes Kuzon.

Korra shrugs and glances over at Asami, who quickly looks down at her socks, suddenly extremely invested in the pattern etched onto them.

“I don’t know…maybe? He’s really fun to hang out with and…he’s not like any boy I’ve ever met before…” Korra mutters shyly.

“And he’s fuckin HOT.” Kya adds.

“Okay Kya yes, he’s hot.” Korra rolls her eyes, still blushing as the girls squeal at her confession.

A sense of dread fills Asami as she realizes that she could have been misreading the entire situation. What if Korra is shy and flustered around her because…that’s just how she is in general? Sure, Asami had caught her…getting off… but what if it was just a one-time thing, her first minor crush, a questioning of her sexuality, before she met a boy that she was _actually_ interested in. Asami felt hot tears pool in her eyes and was disgusted with herself for it. Was she seriously about to _cry_ over her fucking student?

“Broooo oh my Gosh, just _text_ him. It’s not like you’re proposing marriage for Christ sake.” Kya groans

“Mini me has a point, hot stuff. Don’t take life so seriously. Even if he’s only good for one night. No offense to your friend, green eyes.” June directs at Jinora’s boyfriend who laughs good naturedly.

“I heard nothing. I’m not even here, just relaying a message. Don’t mind me.” He grins and throws an arm around Jinora, who smiles and snuggles into him happily.

June and Kya both fake gag at the romantic gesture but then turn back to Korra.

“You want that?” June asks, pointing at Jinora and her boyfriend.

Korra pauses and nods her head slowly.

“Then text him.” Kya finishes.

Asami turns her head towards the rink, a single, irritating tear sliding down her face.

* * *

“Thanks for the ride Miss Sato! See you next week!” Kya yells through the car window, dragging Korra and Opal up the stairs to the year 11 housing with her. Jinora had hitched a ride with her boyfriend, so it was only June and Asami left in the car.

“You sure you don’t need a ride home June?” Asami asked again.

“Are you kidding? It’s still early, the sun hasn’t even set. I got a hookup on the way to pick me up as we speak. I’m getting wined and dined tonight baby.” June grinned at her. Asami scrunches her face up in mock disgust.

“Oh, ew June, when did you even have the time to…forget it.” Asami sighs, “Thanks for coming with me though.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all, I had fun! Think I might hit up that Kya girl later actually, I like her. Reminds me of my young self. Ohhhh to be a teen again.” June sighs dramatically.

“Yea come to think of it, she _is_ a lot like younger you. Poor Korra.” Asami laughs.

June hesitates and tilts her head, an unreadable expression on her face.

“Yea…poor Korra.” She says slowly, suddenly sounding very serious. Asami knits her eyebrows together in confusion and opens her mouth to ask June what’s wrong when suddenly she’s interrupted by June’s phone ringing.

“Oop, booty call is here! Gotta go ‘Sami! Love you!” she plants a wet, sloppy kiss on Asami’s cheek and hops out of the car before Asami can say a word.

Asami sits in her car in silence for a few minutes, trying to go over what had just transpired. June had suddenly got very serious and June was _never_ serious. She had looked like she was trying to figure something out. Before Asami can ponder it any further, there’s a gentle knock on her passenger window. She grins when she sees that it’s Korra and rolls the window down.

“Hi Korra. Did you leave something in the car?” Asami asks.

Korra shakes her head no. “Nah, I just wanted to come back out and check on you. You’ve been a little quiet since we left the skating rink. Is everything okay?”

Asami smiles softly at her, “I’m fine Korra. Thank you for checking in on me.”

A brief silence follows before Korra coughs awkwardly. “Um…can I…can I sit with you then? Just for a little while? Kya’s packing to go home and the room is a mess.”

“Yes of course.” Asami says, a little too eagerly for her own liking. Korra doesn’t seem to notice, however. She unlocks the car door and lets Korra in, rolling the window back up once Korra is inside.

Korra buckles her seatbelt, which makes Asami laugh.

“Are we going somewhere?” she teases. Korra blinks and then blushes in embarrassment, reaching to unclip it.

“Shoot, sorry. Force of habit.” She mumbles.

“Did you wanna go somewhere?” Asami asks, struggling to keep the pathetic hopefulness out of her voice, but still jumping at the chance to be alone with Korra again. She had come to terms with the fact that Korra didn’t like her in that way. She should be relieved; this meant she wouldn’t have to let Korra down. Wouldn’t have to tell her that they could never happen. She should even be happy, as it seems Korra had found a really good guy to be her first… well, _everything_. But instead, Asami felt hollow and empty, even more so than usual. And sad. Really, really _fucking_ sad.

Korra took a minute to think and then looked up at the sky, which was changing colors as the sun began to set.

“We could watch the sunset. I know a good spot in LA to watch it, but I haven’t really been out much to find one here…”

Asami smiles softly, “I think I know a place.”

* * *

“Asami should I be scared? I feel like I should be scared. Please tell me you’re not luring me into a trap to kill me.” Korra whispers.

Asami laughs and squeezes her hand gently, pulling her through the forest towards her ‘secret spot’.

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already Korra. Do you trust me?” Asami stops and turns to look at Korra, who has a soft smile on her face, though she still looks a little uncertain.

“I trust you.” She whispers. Asami bites her bottom lip and quickly turns back around, desperately fighting the wave of emotions that just washed over her.

“Then follow me.” She says, and tugs Korra forward.

They eventually push through a thicket of vines that hang and act as sort of a doorway, entering a secluded section of the forest. Asami hears Korra suck in her breath and drops her hand to let her look around.

“…whoa.” Korra whispers in awe. They’re at the edge of the forest, near a cliff that has a perfect view of the sky. To the left is a small waterfall and to the right are bushes with flowers of all different kinds of colors. Fireflies float around them and light up the space, and Asami can hear the gentle rush of water as it cascades down the side of the cliff, as well as the gentle croaking of crickets and frogs.

She stares at Korra, who has walked over to the base of the waterfall and is staring excitedly into the water.

“Turtles?! Asami, look there’s turtles! I _love_ turtles. Oh, and look at the fireflies, I’ve never seen so many in one place.” Korra giggles as one lands on her nose.

Asami beams. She loves seeing Korra so happy and excited. She especially loves that she’s the _reason_ Korra feels that way.

“Asami how’d you find this place?”

“I was going on a hike and went off the trail. Do you wanna sit down and watch the sunset with me?” Asami asks shyly.

“Of course, I do silly.” Korra smiles, “That’s why we’re here isn’t it?” She grabs Asami’s hand and leads her towards the edge of the cliff, settling down a few feet away from it and letting her feet dangle off the side, beckoning Asami to follow suit. Asami tenderly sits down and crosses her legs. She glances at Korra’s feet worriedly.

“We’re kind of…close to the edge here…”

Korra grins impishly at her, “Awww are you scared I’m gonna fall off ‘Sami?” she teases.

“Maybe.” Asami mutters, looking away and blushing.

“I know you’ll catch me if I do.” Korra nudges Asami’s shoulder with her own playfully. Asami doesn’t respond, just smiles tenderly and looks back out towards the sky.

They sit in silence for a while as they watch the sun descend into the ocean, the sky merging from orange, to pink, to blue.

Korra sighs and unconsciously leans into Asami, gently resting her head on Asami’s shoulder. Asami stiffens and Korra pulls back immediately, a panicked expression on her face.

“I’m so sorry Miss Sato! I didn’t mean to overstep any boundaries I just-”

Asami laughs and reaches out to pull Korra back to her, cupping her right hand over Korra’s face and gently bringing it back down onto her shoulder.

“It’s okay honey, you just surprised me.”

Korra sighs in relief and then snuggles closer into Asami, making her shiver.

“Are you cold?” Korra whispers into her neck. Asami gulps and nods her head slowly.

“Here, we can share my jacket. It’s my dad’s and he’s huge, it should fit over us easily.” Korra says softly, leaning back slightly and taking her left arm out of the jacket sleeve, throwing it over Asami’s shoulder. Asami puts her left arm into the sleeve and Korra pulls them closer together, before cradling her head back into Asami’s neck.

They sit like that for a few minutes, with Asami trying to focus on breathing and keeping her heart rate under control. She actually _was_ cold a couple minutes ago, but now she feels warmth radiating out from her chest and spreading over her entire body. She’s literally buzzing with energy.

“So…how come you’re not packing for Thanksgiving break?” Asami asks in a frantic attempt to put her focus on something other than how her body was reacting to Korra’s close proximity.

She feels Korra take a deep breath.

“Because I’m not…I’m not going home.” She mumbles.

“What?! Why not?”

“You probably already know this but…my mom died on Thanksgiving and the same day I tried to... I had to go to the hospital. I almost didn’t make it, I…I just don’t want to be home right now. I’m not ready to go back yet.” Korra finishes meekly.

Asami turns toward Korra then, her concern plain across her face.

“Korra you shouldn’t be alone. Your dad is allowing this?”

She shrugs. “I was very specific about him _not_ coming to pick me up. He still might try but I really don’t want to spend Thanksgiving at home, at least for this year, and he knows that. He understands people handle grief differently, I guess. I just really don’t want to be around…family right now. It’s too much.”

Asami worried her bottom lip as she processed everything. She would _not_ allow Korra to spend Thanksgiving alone, that much was certain. She really should be with her family, or…shit, _someone_.

“You couldn’t go with Kya?”

“Nah, she asked me if I wanted to, but it didn’t feel right. I’ll be fine Asami, don’t worry about me. Can you scoot back to me now? I’m cold.” Korra frowned.

Asami scooted closer to Korra and wrapped the jacket around them tighter.

“I’m not letting you spend Thanksgiving alone Korra.”

“Asami, really. I’ll be fine.”

“Is it…is it just the day you want to be alone? Or is it…like the whole season?”

Korra tilts her head as she thinks about the question. “I guess…yea I guess the day itself is the worst part, although the season in general kind of sucks for me now.”

“Stay with me.” Asami suggests suddenly, without thinking.

“What?” Korra gives her a puzzled expression.

“I said…I said stay with me. Only for Thanksgiving Day and then I’ll…I’ll drive you down to LA so you can spend the rest of the break with your family.” She adds quickly.

Korra chuckles softly, “Asami didn’t I _just_ say that I want to be alone?”

“Well you _shouldn’t_ be. And I won’t bother you, I promise. You can just hang out in my guest room. As long as I know I can check on you, I’ll feel better. And then I can take you home the next day. Come on Korra, please?”

Korra studies her face for a minute, before breaking out into a huge grin.

“You’d take an eight-hour road trip for me? And drive back alone?” Korra asks in amazement.

“Well I actually might fly back but sure.” Asami murmurs. Before she realizes what’s happening, she’s flat on her back and Korra is on top of her, her arms squeezing around Asami’s neck. They’re still wrapped up in Korra’s jacket and Asami’s arms instinctively wrap around Korra’s waist, pulling her in tighter.

“Thank you so _so_ much Asami.” Korra whispers into her ear. She leans up slightly so that she’s looking down at Asami, smiling gently. She looks so beautiful like this, her hair hanging around her face, her cheeks flushed, her blue eyes shining in the moonlight. Wait, when did the moon come out? And when did it get this dark outside?

Suddenly Asami realized that Korra was on top of her and that she had her arms wrapped around Korra’s waist and that this is _definitely_ not a position that you’re supposed to be in with your _student._

She gently extracts her arms and sits up, making Korra move off of her in the process. Asami clears her throat and glances away from Korra nervously.

“We should probably start heading back.” 

“Oh…yea we should. Kya’s probably wondering where I ran off to.” Korra agrees, starting to stand back up.

Asami brushes herself off and then starts heading back to the forest path to head to her car that’s parked on the side of the road.

“Wait Asami!” Korra yelps and Asami turns around.

“Can you…can you hold my hand again?” she asks sheepishly. “It was scary earlier, even with the sun out, and now that it’s dark…” she trails off.

Asami smiles and reaches out to grab her hand. She’ll never get used to that spark of electricity that flows through her whenever she touches Korra.

Asami has come to terms with the fact that anything beyond friendship is completely out of the question (Obviously. She’s really not sure why this is something she even had to come to terms with, like come on now), but the last couple hours made her realize that she’d much rather have Korra in her life as a friend than to not have her at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BLEH this chapter was so hard to write for some reason! I'm really not good at fluff, there's only SO many ways you can describe a person 'blushing nervously' before it starts getting repetitive LMFAO. But anyways, Okay yea, it’s lookin like I’ll be updating once a week on Saturdays or Fridays. All these assigned readings are kicking my ass rn. Why does it seem like Professors started going overboard with all the work now that everything is online??? this should be illegal?? LMFAOO I’M SUFFERING??? But anywho, when I do update, it’s probably gonna be multiple chapters at once (hopefully, I’m really gonna try, I SWEAR), because I want this fic DONE by Christmas so I can move on to my next idea.


	9. Daddy Issues-The Neighborhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra finally meets Hiroshi Sato himself and sees a glimpse of Asami’s life outside of the academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I know how much it matters to you, I know that you got daddy issues~

~Asami~

“You did _what_?” June asks incredulously.

Asami gives her a pointed stare as she shuffles through her kitchen drawer, searching for a knife to cut her apple in half.

“I told Korra to spend Thanksgiving with me. What’s the big deal?” Asami takes a bite out of her apple slice and raises her eyebrows.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and Asami had asked June to come help her pick out an evening gown for her father’s annual Thanksgiving charity event. Asami hates going and wishes she had Suki’s courage so she could just blow it off, but as usual, she feels obligated to go.

“ _What’s the big deal?_ Asami, are you serious right now?” June scoffs.

“Yes June, I don’t see why you’re overreacting. She’ll be in the guest room and it’s only for one night. I’ve had students sleep at my house before, remember?” Asami says, referring to her chaperoning the girls’ volleyball team for the championship away game last year and letting them all stay in her guest room or sleep on the floor of her bedroom. She sincerely doesn’t get why June is acting like this. At least…that’s what she keeps telling herself. She hates the way June is looking at her right now.

June stares at her for a long moment before sighing and shaking her head.

“Asami… I know you. I’ve known you for _years,_ since we’ve been kids…I _know_ you.” This is the most serious June has ever been with Asami and it’s scaring the shit out of her.

“June, what are you trying to say?” Asami asks quietly and regrets it almost immediately.

June looks her dead in her eyes, “ I thought I saw something at the beach, I just wasn’t sure, but now…Asami I _saw_ how you were looking at Korra at the skating rink, saw how _uncomfortable_ you were when the girls started talking about Korra texting that boy. Asami, look at me!”

Asami had ripped away from June’s gaze and faced away from her. She took deep breaths and leaned against the kitchen counter, trying to center herself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Asami snapped, fighting to keep her voice steady.

“ _BULLSHIT!”_ June yells, causing Asami to flinch. She knows June can see right through her, but she’s not ready to admit to this. Saying this out loud would make it real, would validate all the feelings she’s been trying to push away.

“June, _please_.” Asami begs, wanting desperately to drop the conversation. 

June gets up from her seat on top of the counter and strides over to Asami, grabbing her by her wrist and forcing her to turn around.

“Asami cancel this right now.”

“No! June you don’t understand, she was going to spend it _alone_. It’s the one-year anniversary since her mother’s death. One year since she almost fucking _killed_ herself June, I’m not letting her stay alone.” Asami says through gritted teeth.

June winces but then sighs and lets go of Asami’s wrist.

“Alright Asami. Alright fine. Do you want me to…I can cancel my plans to be with you guys…make sure you don’t do anything extremely fucking stupid.” June says

Asami rolls her eyes and laughs sarcastically. “You think I can’t control myself?”

“No dumbass, I just know how stressed out you get around holiday season dealing with Daddy Sato and his business shenanigans. I don’t want you to…I don’t know, _snap_ in front of her. You have a lot of good things going for you. Don’t. Fuck. It. Up.” June smirks and slaps Asami on her ass, then returns to her perch on top of the counter. Asami yelps but then laughs and gives her a sincere smile, relieved to finally be done with this topic.

“I’ll be fine June. No snapping, I promise. Now tell me what you have planned for Thanksgiving this year. Another fake boyfriend to bring home and pretend like your life is perfect?” Asami smirked.

“Of course, baby, you already know it. Met this one at the gym, he agreed to be my fake date and then we fucked in the shower stalls. Asami when I tell you I had no idea I was a squirter, I-”

“Oh, EW ugh JUNE, too much info, too much info!” Asami yells.

* * *

~Korra~

Korra sighed and bunched up the last of her clothes, tossing them into her suitcase. She’s never been the neatest person and packing wasn’t her strong suite. That was where her mother had stepped in. She had always somehow managed to pack piles and piles of clothes neatly into a single suitcase, while Korra and her dad specialized in waiting until the last minute and then frantically tossing everything in, opting to deal with the nightmare of unpacking later. They had always joked about waiting to see who Bato would take after.

_‘Hopefully he takes after you Mom.’_ Korra thinks to herself with a smile, but then feels tears forming and an ache in her heart.

Today’s the day everything happened. The day her mother was ripped away from her. The day she almost ended her own life right after. She’s glad that Asami convinced her to come to her house for the holiday; she’s having second thoughts about how well she would have handled being on her own.

Korra jumps a little when she hears her phone ringing but then smiles when she sees who’s calling her.

“Hi Asami.” Korra answers the phone, her smile widening when she hears Asami on the other line.

“Hey Korra. You ready? I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Yea, I’m finishing up right now.”

“Okay good, I’m gonna drop June off at home and then head to you so we can go to the store and get your groceries.” Suddenly Asami squeaks and Korra hears rustling through the phone.

“Hey hot stuff, this is June.”

“Hi June, how are you?” Korra giggles into the phone.

“Pretty good, can’t complain. So, listen, I’m actually gonna have my hook up-”

“June!” Asami yells in the background.

“Ugh right, my bad. I mean my _boyfriend_ is gonna pick me up, so Asami will be right over, but no _funny business_ , you hear me?”

“Um… yes ma’am?” Korra says in confusion. She genuinely has no idea what June is talking about, but she doesn’t want Asami’s friend to not like her, so she goes along with it.

“JUNE! Give me the damn phone, now!” There are more rustling noises and what sounds like a couple slaps followed by a squeal, and then Korra hears Asami on the phone again.

“Okay Korra, so I’ll be there in 40 mintutes. See you.” Asami says breathlessly, and then hangs up before Korra can respond. Korra briefly wonders what June meant by “no funny business” but before she can think too much into it, her phone pings and she looks down to see that she has a text from Kuzon. After being forced to by Kya, she finally texted him and they’ve been texting every day since. She smiles and picks the phone back up to respond.

**Kuzon**

You done packin yet slowpoke?

**Korra** Yea I am and fyi, Im NOT a slowpoke. I bet Im faster than u :)>

**Kuzon**

Suure you are. Anyway, how come u haven’t scheduled our rematch yet? U scared u gonna get ur ass kicked?

Korra blushes red and puts her phone down in her lap, taking a deep breath. She knows what Kuzon is really asking her, but this is new territory for her and she’s not sure how to navigate it. Plus, she doesn’t know if she actually likes him or if she’s just trying to like him because everyone seems to want her to. She’s tried to imagine how it would feel to kiss him but for some irritating reason, her brain instantly switches to imagining that it’s Asami instead.

Panicking, she calls Kya, who answers after the third ring.

“Hakoda, put that down, _now!_ Wassup bitch, what do you want?”

“Kya, I think he’s asking me out! What do I do? _What do I do!?_ ”

“OMG say yes dumbass! Say yes! Wait, what do you mean ‘you think’?”

Korra quickly takes a screenshot of her messages with Kuzon and then triple checks to make sure it’s going to Kya before pressing send. There’s a moment of silence as Kya receives the message and then a sudden scream once she’s actually read it.

“Korra what the fuck, he’s basically begging you to go out with him. I’m _screaming.”_

“Yea, and in my ear too.” Korra winces and brings the phone away from her face, deciding that it’s probably safer to talk with Kya on speaker. She spent the next thirty minutes listening to Kya instruct her on how to properly flirt with boys before Kya finally hung up the phone, telling her to text her and let her know how it went.

Korra stared at her phone screen nervously, her fingers hovering over the keypad. If she was completely honest with herself, she wasn’t sure if she really _wanted_ to go on a date with Kuzon, at least not yet. She didn’t feel ready. Sighing, she sent Kuzon a text telling him that she’d have to check her schedule but be ready to get his ass kicked soon.

_‘There. That oughta buy me some time.’_

She groans when her phone goes off again, thinking that it’s Kuzon responding, but then grins when she sees who texted her.

**Asami <3**

Finally got rid of June. I’m here!

Korra laughs and sends her a thumbs up, grabbing her suitcase and nearly tripping over her feet as she runs out of her room.

* * *

“I still can’t believe you don’t eat turkey on Thanksgiving, it’s literally like the main dish.” Korra mumbles as she flips a pancake.

Asami had picked her up and took her to the grocery store so she could buy some things to cook for breakfast and dinner. After much pleading and begging, Korra had convinced Asami to let Korra cook her a mini Thanksgiving meal, but only on one condition: No Turkey.

Asami laughs; a soft, tinkly sound that makes Korra’s heart skip a beat and causes her face to flush slightly. Luckily, she’s standing over a hot stove, so she can blame the flush on the heat.

“Bleh, I don’t know. I’ve just never liked turkey. It’s so _dry_. My mother didn’t like it either.”

“Didn’t? As in she came to her senses and started liking it? Korra smirks as she places the pancake on a nearby plate.

“Actually, my mother passed away from breast cancer nine years ago.” Asami says nonchalantly.

Korra gasps in horror and whips around to face Asami.

“Asami I’m so sor- mmph.” She’s cut off mid-sentence by Asami, who had gotten up and rushed over to her, clapping her hand over Korra’s mouth.

“Aht aht, don’t you dare apologize Korra. You didn’t know.” Asami smirks at her, a playful gleam in her eyes.

Korra is momentarily stunned, partially because she still feels bad, but mostly because Asami is so close to her, and their fronts are nearly touching, and her hand is still covering Korra’s mouth, and she smells so _so_ good, like lavender and vanilla and…is that _honey_? The only thing Korra can manage is a weak nod, and then suddenly Asami isn’t there anymore and Korra has to lean back against the counter and take a deep breath to steady herself.

“You want orange juice or milk?” Asami asks, leaning down into the fridge and waiting for Korra’s response.

“Ummmm…milk.”

“Good choice.” Asami grins at her and sets the carton of milk on the table, then reaches up and grabs two glasses from the kitchen cabinet, showing off a good portion of her toned stomach. Korra swallows a lump in her throat and quickly averts her gaze. She sets the pancakes on the table and sits down across from Asami.

“No syrup today? You usually pile it on when we have pancakes for breakfast at the academy.” Asami teases.

“Do you always watch me eat breakfast, stalker?” Korra asks humorously, getting back up and grabbing the syrup from the cabinet. She might be seeing things, but she swears Asami’s face turns a bit red.

“I can’t help it, it’s like watching a sport. You eat so much and so fast, yet you’re still so…fit.” Asami rolls her eyes. “I would kill to be young and have a fast metabolism again.”

“You make it sound like you’re so old, I bet you’re only like, four years older than me.” Korra says, hoping to catch Asami off guard again. She _really_ wants to know how old she is. Not like it matters, since nothing would _ever_ happen…but still.

Asami snorts. “No.” She says simply, and Korra groans dramatically.

“I hang around you long enough and I’ll find out eventually. You might as well just tell me now.”

“Well where’s the fun in that?” Asami grins wickedly and then digs into her pancakes.

After breakfast, they start cooking their mini Thanksgiving meal, although it’s mostly Korra acting as if she’s on a cooking show and Asami sitting on the kitchen counter, handing her different ingredients and pretending to take serious note of everything Korra is saying. It’s almost exactly how it used to be with her mom, and for a while Korra forgets about the anniversary, about her mother being gone. It’s just her and Asami, and she feels the happiest she’s ever felt in a while.

They finish cooking around three in the afternoon and both realize that they’re hungry again, so they might as well eat. They’re settled at the table and teasing each other about who has to say grace. Asami huffs and finally grabs Korra’s hand, giving in. Korra giggles and bows her head, slightly squeezing Asami’s hand. Asami is about to start when she’s interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

Korra looks at Asami quizzically and Asami frowns, crinkling her nose.

_‘Why is her nose so cute? She makes the cutest face when she’s upset.’_

“Huh…that’s weird. I wasn’t expecting company.” Asami releases Korra’s hand and gets up to walk to the front door, with Korra following closely behind.

She peers through the peep hole and takes a sharp intake of breath.

“What the _fuck_ is he doing here?”

Korra is taken aback hearing Asami curse but then tenses up. _Mako._ Of course, he would come by and ruin her day, just when she had finally gotten Asami to herself again. Now she would have to watch him kiss her and hold her and pretend that everything was okay and like she didn’t want to rip his throat out for touching Asami how _she_ wanted to touch Asami.

Korra is startled by how intense and dark her thoughts about Mako were. It’s not like he had done anything to her personally; he just so happened to be dating the first girl that Korra had ever had a real crush on. And it’s not like she had a chance with Asami anyway. She keeps having to remind herself about that.

“I’m so sorry Korra. I didn’t invite him; I didn’t plan on even seeing him until later tonight and I did _not_ plan on you having to meet him, like ever. Brace yourself.” Asami says and then whips the door open.

_‘Meet?’_ Korra thinks but then the door is open, and she sees a tall, slightly heavy-set man standing in the doorway.

_‘Oh…that’s not Mako. That’s…hey wait okay I know this guy, that’s…fuck, who is this?’_

“Hi Daddy.” Asami says charmingly and gives the man a hug.

_Oh._

Everything clicks into place all at once. Hiroshi Sato. _Thee_ Hiroshi Sato was at Asami’s front door. Because he was her dad. Her father. Hiroshi Sato, the 3rd richest man in the entire world was Asami’s father. She knew that she knew this already but actually seeing him was different. He kind of reminded her of Santa Clause this close up.

Mr. Sato returns his daughter’s hug and then gently brushes past her into the house, taking a look around the foyer and peering into the living room with mild distaste before settling his eyes on Korra.

Korra smiles awkwardly, feeling like she’s being scrutinized under his intense gaze. Her long-sleeved crop top and mom jeans suddenly feel like a horrible choice of an outfit.

“Daddy, this is Korra. She’s a student at the academy I work at.” Asami sidles up behind her and gently places a reassuring hand on her back then pulls away.

Hiroshi smiles gently and reaches out to shake Korra’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Korra. Omashu Academy is an excellent boarding school that only accepts the cream of the crop. You must be a brilliant student to have gotten in, no doubt.” Hiroshi says in a smooth, deep voice.

Korra relaxes slightly, not entirely sure if he actually approves of her or if it’s just an act, but he has a certain charm about him that reminds her of Asami. She returns his handshake and smile.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Sato. And thank you for your compliment, you are too kind.” She says, trying her hardest to sound as elegant as he did. She sees Asami smirk out of the corner of her eye and when Hiroshi turns away from them, Korra sticks her tongue out at Asami.

Asami bites her bottom lip to hold back a laugh, then shakes her head and walks up to join her father.

“What are you doing here Daddy? I didn’t plan on seeing you until tonight.”

Hiroshi frowns slightly as he looks around the house.

“Asami you should really hire a maid or some cleaning services if you can’t keep this house together yourself. How do you live in this pig sty?”

Korra blinked and looked around in confusion, trying to locate the pig sty Mr. Sato was referring to. She had actually teased Asami about how neat and clean her house was when she first stepped in, especially compared to her desk at school. If he thought this was bad, God forbid he ever stepped foot into her room.

“I wasn’t expecting company Daddy.” Asami says stiffly. Korra looks over at Asami and can see how stressed out she seems. She wants so badly to go over and hug and kiss her and let her know that everything is gonna be okay, but she can’t (for a multitude of reasons), so she clenches and unclenches her fists and tries to telepathically tell Asami that she’s here for her. Asami seems to get the message because she looks over at Korra and smiles softly before focusing her attention back on her father.

“Really? So, you weren’t expecting Korra to come? She just came over unannounced?” Asami doesn’t respond, just drops her gaze and looks down at the floor. Korra has never seen her looks so small and vulnerable before; she hates it.

“Actually, I did sort of pop in unannounced Mr. Sato. I had… accidentally grabbed the wrong papers from her desk during class and just…stopped by to drop them off. Miss Sato didn’t know I would be coming over.” Korra finishes weakly.

Asami looks up at her with a slight smirk and raises her eyebrows. Korra shrugs.

“Hm I see… still. I raised you to always be ready to look presentable.” Hiroshi glances into the dining room, looking at the food that was now growing cold.

“You plan on eating this big of a meal right before the event?” Hiroshi turns to Asami, an annoyed expression on his face.

“I wasn’t going to eat a lot, I-” Asami starts.

“Christ Asami, you’ve already gone up two dress sizes in the past four years. I’ll have to tell Ronaldo to measure you again when he comes by tonight. Hopefully you can still squeeze into the dress we had made.”

Hiroshi frowns and pulls out a note pad and jots something down.

“Made? Daddy I already bought-” Asami starts but is cut off by Hiroshi, who seems to have not even heard her talking.

“You’re 25 years old Asami, you have to start taking better care of yourself before your body starts working against you. I’ll see if I can re-hire your personal trainer, but you’ll have to take it seriously this time.”

Hiroshi continues talking but at this point, Korra feels as if she’s heard enough and staying any longer would be an even bigger invasion of privacy. She slips out of the foyer and heads to the living room, sitting down on the couch and turning the tv on to try and drown out their conversation.

About fifteen minutes later, she hears the front door close. She debates getting up and going to Asami when she suddenly feels a presence over her and cranes her neck up to see Asami leaning over her. Korra smiles and Asami sighs, hopping over the back of the couch and plopping down next to Korra, resting her feet on the coffee table in front of them.

“Wow.” Korra says, breaking the silence.

“Please shut up.” Asami snaps, but Korra can see a smile tugging the corners of her mouth up.

“What? I wasn’t gonna say anything. I was just sitting here, looking at TV. With you…a 25-year-old woman.” Korra laughs when Asami groans and pushes her shoulder.

“You’re so annoying.” Asami laughs.

“I told you I was gonna find out eventually. Thank you, Mr. Sato.” Korra grins but then gets serious, remembering how miserable and stressed Asami had looked.

“No, but seriously, Asami, I’m…sorry you have to go through that. He seems…intense.” Korra winces.

Asami sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

“It’s okay. I’m used to by now.” She says simply, dropping the subject.

“Sooo…did you still wanna eat? Before Ronaldo gets here?” Korra asks, a coy smile on her lips.

“Honestly Korra, I’m not really that hungry anymore. I-”

“Oh, come on, I cooked it just for you. It’ll be our little secret. I promise not to tell anyone. Please Asami, you need to eat. Pleeaassee?” Korra leans towards Asami and gives her puppy dog eyes and Asami laughs and pushes her away.

“Ugh okay fine. I’ll eat. Move.” She stands up and walks toward the dining room. Korra grins and excitedly scrambles up to follow her.

* * *

“Hmmm I don’t know Ronaldo. I mean, don’t get me wrong, red is absolutely a sexy color and it’ll look stunning on Miss Sato, but it’s _Thanksgiving_! We’re not going for sexy; we want…we want warm. Gentle. Inviting! You get me?” Korra taps her fingers against her chin and tilts her head slightly, giving Asami a once over.

“Ahhh…no I see what you mean. Of course, of course! We can’t have her going to her Daddy’s event looking like a painted whore.” Ronaldo exclaimed and Korra had to bite back a laugh at the look on Asami’s face.

Not too long after Mr. Sato had left, Ronaldo had stormed into Asami’s house and swept her upstairs into her bedroom to get her ready for the event tonight. Korra had been extremely amused by the whole ordeal. Asami had calmed down significantly since Hiroshi had left, which made Korra feel slightly better, as she could now go back to gently teasing Asami.

Ronaldo (whether knowingly or unknowingly) was the perfect associate, as he always seemed to play off of Korra’s humor, further flustering Asami.

“Ronaldo, please.” Asami snapped at him, her face turning slightly red.

“What Miss Sato? He’s completely right…unless that’s the kind of attention you _want_ to attract tonight?” Korra says mischievously.

Ronaldo guffaws and nods his head vigorously in agreement. “Yes, my dear Asami, your ass in this dress we designed for you is gonna garner enough attention on its own, trust me! Can’t believe I was gonna go with red. Korra, you’re a makeup genius. You do makeup yourself darling?” Ronaldo asks while applying blush to Asami’s cheeks.

Korra shrugs, grinning at Asami, who had tried to frown at her but was quickly reprimanded by Ronaldo.

“I dibble and dabble, but nothing too serious. My mom was a makeup artist. Ahh, a little more on the left cheek,” Korra points to Asami’s face, “And I was thinking a soft brownish pink lipstick maybe? Try to make it somewhat close to her natural lip color.”

Ronaldo nods, “Of course of course. Listen babe, I trust you. You dig through my bag and finish up here, I’m gonna go grab my camera from my car. Asami honey, don’t _move_.”

Ronaldo rushes out of the room and Korra hops down from her position on the bathroom sink, rummaging through Ronaldo’s makeup bag. She can feel Asami watching her, but she doesn’t say anything. The air in the room suddenly feels thick, and Korra feels like she’s suffocating. She takes a deep breath and coughs to try and clear her throat.

“Okay Miss Sato I think I found a good color! Close your lips please. No, don’t pucker them, just close.” Korra giggles.

Asami smiles gently but then straightens her lips back out and keeps them closed lightly together. She closes her eyes and Korra takes it as a sign to start.

Korra leans in and starts applying the lip liner, trying to not breathe directly into Asami’s face, but the close proximity makes it nearly impossible.

_‘Please God don’t let my breath smell bad’_

After she’s done, she takes a step back to admire her work. Asami still has her eyes closed and Korra’s eyes wander down to look at her lips.

“You’re so beautiful, Asami” Korra whispers, her eyes still on Asami’s lips. She flickers them upwards and sees that Asami’s eyes are now open, and she’s staring at Korra with a strange, dark expression on her face. The air feels unbearably thick now and it takes everything in Korra’s power to ignore the urge to run out of the room.

_‘Why do her eyes look so black?’_ Korra wonders.

Korra sees Asami’s eyes wander down to her own lips and her heart starts beating unnaturally fast. _‘What the fuck is happening?’_

Asami opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something when they’re suddenly interrupted by Ronaldo waltzing in, fussing with the straps on his camera and telling Asami to stand up.

“Okay I have to hurry honey, that damn chauffeur is here and was rushing me. Apparently, Daddy Sato wants you there thirty minutes early, and I refuse to feel his wrath if you’re late so let’s go!”

Korra doesn’t have time to process what had just happened. She’s suddenly caught up in the storm that is Ronaldo, directing Asami to pose this way and that way, flashing pictures, fiddling with her hair, making final touches to her makeup. The next thing she knows, Asami is being ushered out of the room.

“I’ll be back late tonight Korra, make yourself at-” Ronaldo shuts the door behind him and Asami before she can finish, leaving Korra alone in the middle of Asami’s bedroom.

* * *

Korra spends the next few hours mindlessly scrolling through the tv before she feels her eyes drooping and finally decides to get ready for bed. She bounces up the stairs and goes into the guest bathroom, putting her hair in a ponytail, throwing on her pajamas and quickly brushing her teeth.

She lays down in the guest bed and snuggles under the blankets for a solid ten minutes, trying to will herself to sleep but she’s suddenly bursting with energy. Annoyed, she yanks the covers off of herself and decides to look around Asami’s house.

She’s already familiar with the bottom half of it, plus she doesn’t feel like walking back downstairs, so she sticks to exploring the top portion. The guest room is situated down the end of a long hallway, and right across it is another room with the door slightly ajar. Korra gently pushes it open and sees that it’s an office room, with a big desk situated on the right side of the room, facing the window.

The desk is littered with papers and pens, and Korra smirks to herself, noting that Asami’s desk space is a mess at home too.

She pads over to the desk and glances over it briefly. There’s a framed picture of an older woman with gray-streaked black hair and bright jade-green eyes. She bears a striking resemblance to Asami. Korra gently picks up the frame to get a closer look.

_‘Oh…this must be Asami’s mother.’_

She puts the picture back down and then turns her attention to the other one on the desk, which is a family picture of baby Asami with Hiroshi and her mother. Hiroshi and Asami’s mom (who seems to be pregnant in the picture) are looking at each other lovingly while Asami is smiling happily at the camera. Smiling, Korra traces her finger along baby Asami’s face, before turning to leave the room, gently closing the door behind her.

The only room left to explore is Asami’s room, and although she was in there for a good amount of time earlier with Asami and Ronaldo, she didn’t really get the chance to look around. She stops at the door, hesitant, feeling as though she’s breaking some sort of boundary.

_‘She’s not here and I’ll be out of it before she gets home. She’ll never know.’_

Taking a deep breath, Korra pushes the door open and steps inside. She leans against the door frame, letting her eyes survey the room before they land on Asami’s bed. Target in mind, she quickly strides over to Asami’s bed, intent on enveloping herself in the blankets on top, but she stops once she gets to the foot of the bed. This is really… _really_ invasive right? To actually lay down in someone’s bed. She had fallen asleep in Kya’s bed sometimes, on nights when they were up late gossiping, but this felt…different somehow.

_‘She’s not here! She won’t know, and I’ll leave before she gets back.’_

Her mind set, Korra let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and crawled into the bed. She was immediately enveloped in Asami’s scent, a mix of lavender, vanilla and some indescribable smell that Korra recognized as Asami’s natural body odor. She took a deep breath and sighed, trying to ignore how much she felt like a creep.

She rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling for a while, enjoying being surrounded by Asami’s scent. Korra turned her head slightly to the right and eyed Asami’s nightstand.

_‘Well…I’m already in her bed. What difference does it make if I peek in her nightstand while I’m here? It’s not like she’ll ever find out…’_

Korra rolled back over onto her stomach and pulled the first drawer open. She didn’t see anything of real interest, just papers, a couple of melatonin pill bottles, and a note pad with a pen hooked onto it. She’s about to shut the drawer when a flash of red catches her eye, and she quickly opens the drawer again to investigate.

She pulls out the device and looks at it curiously. It’s kind of…phallic shaped with a second smaller, shorter leg sticking out a quarter down the longer, thicker portion of it. She presses the button that she assumes is supposed to turn it on, thinking that it must be some kind of speaker, but flinches when it comes to life and starts vibrating, the thicker, longer portion wiggling around slightly.

_‘What the fuck is this?’_

Before Korra can try to figure out what the device is, she hears a car door slam and a bunch of yelling from outside. She hurriedly puts the red thing away and shoves the drawer close, scrambling off the bed and to the window to see where all the commotion is coming from.

She peers down into the driveway and can see Mako, Asami, and Mr. Sato clambering out of a limousine. Mako has Asami’s heels and purse in his hand, while Mr. Sato is angrily waving his hands in the air. Korra can’t hear exactly what he’s saying, but she knows for certain that he’s pissed at Asami. It’s at this point that Korra realizes Asami is swaying from side to side, barefoot and barely able to hold herself up, but she’s still yelling back at Mr. Sato.

_‘Oh my God…is she drunk?’_

Korra is debating whether or not she should intervene when Asami suddenly loses the war with gravity and topples down onto the concrete. Korra speeds out of the room and practically flies down the stairs, barreling through the front door.

“Asami!” She yells, slightly out of breath. Mako and Mr. Sato turn to look at her, their disgust at Asami’s behavior clear on their faces.

Korra rushes up to Asami and kneels next to her, cradling her head in her lap and brushing hair out of her face.

“Asami, are you alright? Talk to me.” Korra gently pats Asami’s cheeks and scans her face for signs of distress. Asami slowly opens one eye and then the other, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

“Korra?” she whispers dazedly. Korra nods her head and smiles softly. “Korra…I don’t feel so good.” Asami groans.

“Okay, let’s get you inside then.” Korra helps Asami up to her feet and finally glances at Mako and Mr. Sato. Mako is looking at Korra curiously while Mr. Sato still looks disgusted.

“I don’t know why you’re still here Korra, but it’s probably for the best. I’m ashamed you have to see Asami like this, but you seem like a trustworthy person. I expect you won’t tell anyone a word?” Mr. Sato questions her. Korra shivers, but not from the cold. There’s something slightly threatening lurking underneath Mr. Sato’s smooth, deep voice.

“No Sir, I won’t tell a soul. I’ll look after her.” 

Mr. Sato nods. “Good.” He snatches Asami’s heels and purse from Mako and tosses them to the ground next to Korra.

“Mako, let’s go. I have a lot shit to cover with the press thanks to my _daughter_.” He spits out the word daughter venomously, giving Asami a piercing stare before turning around and striding to the limousine, slamming the car door shut.

Mako looks back at Korra, unsure, but then nods his head at her slightly and follows Mr. Sato into the car. They peel out of the driveway without even making sure Korra gets Asami back into the house safely.

Asami starts to stir on Korra’s shoulder, making Korra quickly swoop down to pick up her things and then head inside the house. Getting upstairs is a struggle, but Korra manages and finally gets to Asami’s room, setting her gently down on the bed and putting her things on a living chair next to her vanity mirror. She goes to a bathroom and wets a towel with cold water then walks over towards Asami, who is laying on her back, her legs hanging over the edge of the bed and her eyes screwed shut.

Korra starts gently wiping the makeup from her face and Asami groans.

“S’cold. Why’s is it so cold?” She slurs, swatting at Korra’s hand. Korra laughs and moves her hand away.

“We gotta get your makeup off ‘Sami. Hold still.”

Asami obliges grumpily and lets Korra take the rest of her makeup off her face. Korra goes to the bathroom to rinse the towel off and then leans against the sink, plotting her next move.

_‘Okay…okay now I gotta take her gown off and find her something to sleep in and…shit… **shit** I have to take her gown off. Oh my God, I’m gonna have to take her gown off. Okay no this is fine, everything is fine. I’m just not gonna make it weird. She probably won’t remember this in the morning, and I forsure won’t ever mention this again. I’m okay. Korra, you are okay!’ _

Korra is so preoccupied with how she can go about doing this as gracefully as possible that she doesn’t notice Asami saunter into the bathroom until she’s right behind her.

Asami wraps her arms around Korra from behind and nuzzles her chin into Korra’s neck, rocking them gently from side to side.

“Korraaaa. Aren’t you gonna come to bed?” she whispers into Korra’s ear, sending a shiver down Korra’s spine. Korra suddenly realizes that Asami took off her gown herself and is now in only her _bra and panties_ , pressed up against Korra’s back.

_‘Guess I don’t have to worry about undressing her now.’_

“Uhh ‘Sami…w-what are you doing?” Korra stutters. Her body heats up instantly due to Asami’s close proximity and, to Korra’s horror, she feels her nipples start to harden. Asami looks in the mirror and smiles seductively as she notices Korra’s reaction. She slowly slides her palms up Korra’s stomach and rests them just underneath the curve of Korra’s breasts, making light circles with her thumbs on the side of them.

“I want you.” She purrs into Korra’s ear, and then detaches herself from behind Korra, only to grab her wrist roughly and drag her out the bathroom and towards the bed.

“Asami wait. I don’t think this is a go-” Korra is cut off mid-sentence as Asami throws her onto the bed and swiftly clambers up and straddles her. She takes Korra’s hands and places them on her waist, grinding down gently into her. Korra lets out a whimper and involuntarily raises her hips to meet Asami’s gentle thrusts. Asami moans and Korra almost loses it.

_‘Holy…shit what’s happening? What’s happening? What the **fuck** is happening?’ _

Asami leans forward and plants her hands on the side of Korra’s shoulders, leaning forward to talk into Korra’s ear.

“Korraaaaaa. I’ve wanted you for _so_ long, you have no _fuckin_ idea.” Asami pants, still grinding her hips down gently. Korra gasps and tightens her grip on Asami’s waist. She knows they shouldn’t be doing this. Knows that Asami isn’t in her right mind right now but she wants this _so bad…_ so _so_ bad, but not like… _this_. But Asami feels so good on top of her, and she’s so hot it feels like she’s on fire, and there’s this intense _pull_ in her lower stomach, almost like an _ache_.

“You’re so beautiful Korra. So _beautiful._ ” Asami continues. Korra doesn’t respond, just whimpers uncontrollably.

“I know you want me. I saw you. You were so _hot_. Touching yourself. And saying my name. Take me Korra. _Please._ ”

_‘Wait…huh?’_

Korra feels all the blood in her body rush to her head. She almost chokes on her spit as she struggles to take a breath. Oh my God…she _knew_. Asami _knew_ how Korra felt about her. Had literally seen her _masturbating_ apparently (And uuummmm okay… _WHEN_?). If there was ever a time Korra wanted a random black hole to open up and swallow her…it was _definitely_ now.

Her embarrassment quickly turns into anger and shame as she realizes that Asami is drunk and that she would never want Korra in her sober and right mind. That they could never happen. None of this was real. Asami knew how she felt and didn’t want her back. Only asked her to stay for Thanksgiving because she pitied her, most likely. That pissed Korra off to no end; the last thing she needed was someone’s pity.

“Asami, get off of me. _Now_.” Korra demands through clenched teeth.

Asami jerks her head up and looks down at Korra in confusion, as if she’s not sure how she got in this position in the first place.

“Korra?” she asks in a shaky, unsure voice. She scrambles to climb off of Korra, opening her mouth as if she was about to say something. Suddenly her face contorts, and she leans over the side of the bed and vomits, then immediately starts sobbing.

Korra lays in stunned silence for a moment before she cautiously sits up and then wraps Asami up into her arms.

“Shhhhh it’s okay Asami. I got you. I’m here. I’m here ’Sami, it’s okay.” Korra coos while gently rubbing her hands in circles over Asami’s back.

It takes fifteen minutes for Korra to calm Asami down, get her cleaned up and in her pajamas, then tuck her into bed. Asami looks significantly more sober now, and spent the entire time apologizing and nearly breaking into tears again.

Korra can feel Asami staring at her as she cleans the vomit out of the carpet, but instead of saying something, she just looks up at her and smiles. Asami gives her a small smile back.

“I don’t deserve you in my life Korra. I don’t deserve anything good.” She says softly, tears running down her face again. “I’m so sorry. I’m so _so_ sorry.”

Korra frowns and quickly throws the soiled cleaning towels into a bag, tying it into a knot, and then tossing it to the side to deal with in the morning. She crawls onto the bed and sits next to Asami, grabbing her hand.

“Hey, don’t say stuff like that. It was an accident okay? I forgive you, it’s no big deal.” Korra reassures her, rubbing her thumb gently across Asami’s knuckles and reaching to wipe the tears from her face with her free hand. Asami stares at her for a moment before sighing and shaking her head.

“You’re too good for this world, Korra Waters.”

Korra grins but doesn’t respond, keeping her hold on Asami’s hand and settling into a comfortable silence. After a while, she hears Asami’s breathing settle into a steady rhythm and assumes she’s asleep. She starts to loosen her hand from Asami’s grip but is surprised when she feels a hand tightens back around hers. She looks up and sees that Asami is looking at her through half-lidded eyes.

“Please don’t go Korra. Stay with me.”

It’s just the alcohol talking, Korra tries to tell herself. She doesn’t really care, she’s still drunk. She’ll wake up sober tomorrow and this will all be over.

But that doesn’t stop her chest from getting tight, nor do the butterflies in her stomach get the message.

“Of course, Asami. I’m not going anywhere.” Korra says softly, and lays back down, still holding Asami’s hand as they both drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWAHAHAHAHAH I have ONCE AGAIN underestimated how much work school was gonna be. I hate that I can’t even really promise an update once a week, but fuck, I really am gonna try! Also, I changed the tag about Hiroshi, in hindsight he is kind of an asshole lmaooo


	10. 400 Lux-Lorde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami embark on an 8-hour road trip to LA, the awkwardness of last night’s encounter still looming over them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~We're never done with killing time. Can I kill it with you?~

~Asami~

Asami groans and rolls over in bed, her hand searching for the warmth of a body that was there the night before. When she doesn’t find it, she sighs and sits up, stretching out her arms and rubbing the numbness out of her hands. Her head is pounding, and she can taste a hint of bile on her tongue.

_‘Shit.’_

Last night was still foggy and unclear, but she can recognize a hangover from a mile away, and judging by the intensity of her headache, she must have been completely out of it last night. She clambers out of her bed and drags herself to the bathroom, intent on brushing her teeth to rid her mouth of the rancid taste. As she’s brushing, she glances down at her what she’s wearing and scrunches up her eyebrows.

 _‘Huh…I don’t own any t-shirts this big…’_ She looks back up into the mirror and frowns, her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. _‘And I never put my hair a ponytail when I sleep. Always a bun…’_

She rinses out her mouth and washes her face, then makes her way to the hallway. When she exits her room, she’s hit with the smell of bacon and can hear music being played from the kitchen. The song playing is ‘Oh Honey’ by Delegation, and Asami smiles, being taken back to early Saturday mornings as a child, her mom cooking breakfast for her, her father, and Suki while old school music played from their stereo. _‘Korra_.’ Asami thinks happily to herself. Her smile widens as she quickly makes her way downstairs to say good morning to the girl.

Her memory is still a little hazy, but she knows that if she was drunk last night, Korra was most likely the one that took care of her. That would explain the pajamas and the hair, at least. It bothers her that she can’t remember why she was drunk or what happened while she was, but she figures talking to Korra might help jog her memory. When she reaches the kitchen, she pauses for a minute and leans against the doorframe, soaking in the scene before her.

Korra has her hair in her signature braids and is wearing an oversized long-sleeved crew neck with jean shorts. Her feet are bare and she’s at the stove, dancing while she flips a pancake.

 _‘This girl and her damn pancakes.’_ Asami rolls her eyes but feels her heart flutter.

Korra looks so happy and carefree. Asami feels the urge to walk up and wrap her arms around the girl, but she pushes it down and instead clears her throat to get Korra’s attention.

Korra yelps and turns around, startled. Her face turns slightly red when she realizes she was caught dancing and Asami can’t help but let out a giggle. She walks over to the stove and hops on the nearest countertop, watching Korra as she goes back to cooking her pancakes.

“Sorry if I scared ya.” Asami says, crossing her legs at her ankles and swinging them lightly.

“It’s okay, I’m just a little jumpy this morning.” Korra mumbles shyly

“Yea, I see,” Asami laughs, “How do you know this song? It’s pretty old school, even for me.”

“Oh uh…my mom used to play it all the time when she cooked breakfast the day after a big holiday so I just… I don’t know.” Korra shrugs.

“My mother used to play this song all the time too. It’s a beautiful song.” Asami smiles gently. Korra hums in agreement but doesn’t say anything else. An awkward silence follows and Asami frowns. Something feels… _off._ As they set the table together, Asami notices that Korra seems to be trying to keep her distance and avoiding eye contact with Asami. She’s also extremely quiet, which is _way_ out of character for Korra, especially with Asami.

They eat breakfast mostly in silence, with Asami trying her hardest to initiate a conversation and Korra only giving her clipped, one-word responses, sometimes not saying anything at all, just nodding or humming as an answer. Asami sighs in defeat and finishes her breakfast in silence.

After they clean up and wash the dishes, Korra immediately makes to head out of the kitchen but Asami grabs her wrist, stopping her. Korra yanks her hand away as if she’s been burned and Asami flinches, a hurt expression contorting her facial features. When Korra sees the expression on Asami’s face, her eyes immediately soften and then fill with guilt.

“Korra what’s the matter? Are you okay?” Asami asks in concern.

Korra nervously rubs the back of her neck. “Yea I’m fine Miss Sato, I’m just…I’m just tired, I guess.”

Asami gives her a pointed stare. “C’mon Korra, you know you can talk to me about anything.” She reaches out to hold Korra’s wrist again, feeling her stiffen slightly, but she doesn’t pull away. “Is this about your mother?” She implores softly.

Korra shakes her head. “Oh no, it’s nothing like that. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“Umm…” Korra glances up at her nervously but then quickly looks back down.

“Miss Sato do you not…remember anything from last night? Like _anything_?”

Asami sighs and shakes her head no. “Everything is really foggy, but I woke up with a headache this morning, so I know I must have been really drunk.” Asami pauses, slightly embarrassed. “I’m…I’m sorry by the way. That you had to see me drunk like that. That’s not… _professional._ I hope I wasn’t too bad.” She winces, recalling instances in college where she had gotten hammered and June reported her behavior back to her the next day. She could definitely get a little…out of hand while intoxicated.

Korra snorts. “Oh no, you weren’t that bad at all. An angel really.” She says, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Asami’s eyes widen. She must have been bad. Really, _really_ bad.

“Korra, what happened? What did I do?” Asami asks, somewhat scared to hear the response.

Korra shakes her head and attempts to remove her wrist from Asami’s grasp, who didn’t notice she was still holding onto Korra until then. Asami tightens her grip, refusing to let Korra go until she speaks.

“Miss Sato it’s okay, really. I forgave you already, I-”

“Why do you keep calling me Miss Sato? You always call me Asami when we’re alone.” Asami pouts.

Korra flushes slightly. “Oh? Um I don’t kn-”

“And what do you mean you ‘ _forgave me’_ already?” Asami asks, dread seeping into her bones as she realizes that she must have crossed some serious boundaries last night if Korra had to _forgive her_ for something. “Korra, please. What did I do?”

Korra sighs and gently pulls her wrist completely out of Asami’s hand, looking down at the ground. Asami crosses her arms and waits for her to start.

“Asami…you…you came home really drunk last night. Mr. Sato and Mako had dropped you off and there was a bunch of yelling and I came down to check on you because you fell onto the concrete and I honestly thought Mako would _at least_ stay and make sure you were okay but he left with Mr. Sato. No offense Asami but your dad is really frickin scary when he’s angry, also he’s kind of rude. He threw your shoes and your purse on the ground instead of handing them to me, like that was really-”

Korra rambles on but Asami has stopped listening, all the blood draining from her face as her memory floods back and she remembers _exactly_ what happened last night.

_‘Oh my God, oh my God, Oh my God. Shit. Shit. FUCK.’_

“…and then you told me you… _saw_ me um… _touching_ myself.” Korra’s face is impossibly red at this point, but she powers through to finish, “And then I was able to get you off of me because I knew you would feel bad if anything happened and then you threw up and…yea.” She finishes awkwardly, twiddling her fingers together as she waits for Asami to respond.

“Korra I’m… I’m…” Asami struggles to find her voice as the realization that she probably would have _slept_ with Korra if the girl didn’t stop her seeps in. She can’t seem to find any words to express how sorry she is, but luckily, she doesn’t need to. Korra finally makes eye contact with her and smiles softly.

“Hey it’s okay. I already forgave you, remember?” she nudges Asami’s shoulder gently. “I know you don’t actually…want me how I want you. We can just…pretend like it never happened. Okay?” Korra says shyly.

Asami nods her head meekly, but on the inside she’s screaming.

_‘She wants me…oh God, she wants me. She actually does like me.’_

Asami hates that this makes her happy, but for some reason, hearing Korra say it out loud, actually _verbalize_ that she likes Asami…she’s _never_ felt butterflies this intense before. It’s starting to scare her actually. Korra clears her throat and Asami snaps back into reality.

“Um Asami…how exactly did you… _see_ me?” Korra whispers.

Asami cringes, now starting to feel extremely embarrassed about the whole ordeal.

“Oh um…I…it was after you ran out of my classroom that one day. I went to go check on you because you didn’t look so good and when I got to your room, I heard you ah… you were… you were whimpering. I opened your door because I thought you were in pain but…yea.” Asami finds looking at Korra extremely difficult, so she instead focuses on a very interesting lint ball on her shoulder. “Korra I’m really sorry for invading your privacy like that…and last night I…it was a mistake. I was drunk and upset and I just…” Asami trails off.

Korra nods and gives an understanding smile. “It’s okay Asami. I’m sorry too.”

Asami raises her eyebrows, as if to say, “sorry for what”. Korra laughs and shakes her head.

“Sorry for…I don’t know…liking you? I know I’m not supposed to, but I couldn’t help it, you’re so…you.” Korra ducks her head shyly and Asami feels her heart melt into a puddle on the floor.

“God, I wish I was 17 again.” She murmurs and Korra snaps her head up, her eyes growing wide.

“You think…you think you would like me back? If you were…my age?” she asks, starstruck.

 _‘I like you now Korra.’_ Asami wants to scream, but instead she just laughs and nods her head.

“Of course, I would like you back silly. You’re smart and pretty, and you’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met. 17-year-old me would fawn over you. And don’t apologize for liking me. Sometimes…” Asami pauses, her next words ringing truer to her own ears even though they’re meant for Korra, “Sometimes we like people that we’re not supposed to.” She sighs.

Korra nods her head slowly and then throws Asami the first genuine, bright smile since they’ve started talking this morning.

“Okay…well…great. I’m glad that’s over with. I was really scared to talk to you this morning, I-” Korra is cut off by her phone ringing in her pocket, and she scrambles to get it. A shy smile graces her face as she reads the caller ID.

“Who is it?” Asami asks, smirking at her, thinking it must be Kya or her father calling.

“It’s Kuzon.” Korra replies, and Asami fights to keep her face from falling.

“I have to take this, but I’ll be ready to go afterwards okay?” Korra says. Asami nods stiffly, and Korra makes her way out of the room, breathlessly answering the phone.

When Korra is gone, Asami slumps over the kitchen counter and holds her head in her hands, massaging her temple.

_‘June is gonna fucking kill me.’_

* * *

~Korra~

Korra hops down the last step off of Asami’s front porch and pulls her suitcase behind her, heaving it into the trunk. She slides into the front seat of the car, buckling her seatbelt and then looking over at Asami, who is fiddling with her phone, trying to connect it to her car’s Bluetooth. She finally gets the device to connect and Korra smirks as Fleetwood Mac starts playing.

“Of course, you listen to Fleetwood Mac. Are you one of those people who feel like they were ‘born in the wrong generation’?” Korra teases.

Asami laughs and waves Korra off. “Oh, screw you, I just like some of their songs.”

Korra grins and takes Asami’s phone to put in the directions to her house.

“Seven hours and twenty-six minutes. It’s not too late to back out ‘Sami, I haven’t told my dad I’m coming home. You sure you wanna do this?” Korra asks. For a brief moment, she fears that Asami might actually change her mind, but she looks over to see Asami grinning at her and her fears melt away.

“Ugh. Seven hours in a car with you? I might just drop you off on the side of the road halfway there.” She says, before putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the driveway. Korra has to tear her eyes away from the sight of Asami as she backs the car up.

_‘Why does she look so hot when she’s driving?’_

The first half of the road trip is pretty uneventful, with Korra and Asami talking occasionally but mainly just sitting in silence, listening to music. Asami points out some interesting scenery that Korra didn’t catch on her way up here with Tonraq, and Korra sometimes plays a song that she thinks Asami might like. They drive in comfortable silence with each other, neither feeling the need to fill it with conversation.

Around the four-hour mark, Asami pulls over to a gas station to take a bathroom break, fill the tank back up, and get some snacks. She comes back to the car, handing Korra a bag full of food.

“You got me orange juice?” Korra asks in amusement.

Asami shrugs, starting the car back up and pulling out of the gas station.

“You mentioned it being your second favorite drink, and they didn’t have minute maid berry punch so…”

Korra clenches her fist softly and turns her attention back to the road. She would normally tease Asami about paying close attention to her, but now that the cat’s out of the bag about her having a crush on Asami (still the most embarrassing thing she’s ever been through), she’s hesitant to joke with her about stuff like that. She doesn’t want to make things (even more) awkward.

She isn’t let off that easy however, as Asami notices her silence and smirks, still keeping her eyes on the road.

“You’re not gonna mock me about paying special attention to you?” Asami teases.

Korra blushes and looks down at her hands and twist them together.

“Oh, um well…I…I uh-” Korra stammers.

Asami throws her head back and laughs. “You’re just too adorable Korra. You know you can still play with me, right? It doesn’t have to be weird.”

Korra gives her a small smile and shrugs.

“I don’t know. I’ve never…this is new for me, I’ve never…had someone know I…liked them. I’ve never liked someone before to be completely honest.” Korra says sheepishly.

Asami looks over at her in shock. “Korrra am I…I’m your first crush? Like ever.”

Korra rolls her eyes, but then nods while blushing.

“I’m honored.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“No, Korra, I’m serious.” Asami laughs, “You’re first crush on someone and it’s lil ole me. You have good taste, if I do say so myself.” Asami says smugly.

“Oh, get over yourself, it’s just cus you’re funny.” Korra mumbled, smiling.

“You sure it’s not cus I’m so pretty? That’s one of the first things you ever said to me.” Asami quips, reaching over to poke Korra in her stomach.

Korra yelps and squirms away from her. “I was just nervous! It was my first time being away from home, I just…said the first thing that came to mind. Can we talk about something else now please?” Korra asks, exasperated. She suddenly gets a text on her phone (much to her relief), and quickly looks down to see who it is.

She blushes when she sees that it’s Kuzon and quickly puts the phone back down.

“Who was that?” Asami asks. Korra shakes her head.

“It’s no one.” Korra says quickly.

“Korra, tell me!”

“Ughh okay, _fine._ It was Kuzon.”

“Oh.” Asami says simply, turning her attention back to the road.

Korra studies her for a minute, trying to understand her reaction. She remembered how stiff Asami acted around Kuzon at the beach, and now she seemed uncomfortable with the idea of Korra texting him.

“You don’t like Kuzon, do you?” Korra asks her.

Asami whipped her head towards Korra in surprise. “ _What_? Of course, I do, why would you say that?”

Korra shrugs, “I don’t know. You didn’t seem to like him at the beach…”

Asami turns slightly red. “I was just…I was having an off day.” She murmurs.

Korra laughs, “No really Asami, I don’t have experience with boys. Does he have bad vibes, or do you see something I should look out for?” Korra asks earnestly.

Asami looks at her and for the briefest moment, Korra sees something in her eyes, almost like a…sadness. But Asami looks away from her before Korra can understand what she just saw and smiles softly.

“He seems like a sweet, young man Korra. And he’s very handsome. I think he’ll be good for you.” Asami says.

Korra nods slowly, letting the conversation drop. It’s annoying and stupid and childish really, but something about Asami encouraging her to pursue Kuzon kind of…hurts.

_‘She really doesn’t like me back. Last night really was just a drunken mistake for her.’_

Biting back tears, Korra leans forward and turns the radio back up, trying to drown out her depressing thoughts.

* * *

Asami pulls off the dirt road and into Korra’s dirt driveway cautiously, looking at her phone to double check the address. Korra laughs at her confusion and hops out the front seat to grab her luggage out the trunk.

“Korra…you neglected to mention that you live in a farm next to a forest. When you said LA, I thought you meant like…the city. Is this even LA?” Asami asks, looking around in bewilderment.

Korra scoffs and rolls her eyes at Asami. “You got a problem with my home, city girl?” she jeers. Asami scrunches up her nose in disgust.

“Oh no, it’s beautiful. Very quaint and homey. And it smells _lovely_.” Asami says, looking at the horse pen with an amused expression on her face. Korra laughs, but before she can offer a quip back, Tonraq swings open the front door and comes tumbling down the porch steps towards them.

“Korra!” Tonraq yells, swooping Korra up into a crushing bear hug and planting kisses all over her face.

Korra squeaks and struggles to get out of his grasp. “Dad, stop. Ughhh, you’re squishing me. I can’t breathe, put me dooowwn.” Korra whines.

Tonraq laughs heartily and sets her down, but not before planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Why didn’t you call and tell me you were coming home? I’m so glad you came, Korr.”

Korra smiles bashfully, “I wanted to surprise you. I wouldn’t have come if Asa-…Miss Sato didn’t convince me.”

Tonraq peers behind her to see Asami standing off to the side, a polite smile on her face. She approaches them graciously and offers her hand out to Tonraq.

“Hello Mr. Waters, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name’s Asami. I’m Korra’s biology teacher.”

Tonraq looks down at her hand briefly before glancing back up at her, a huge grin on his face. He pulls her into a bear hug, making Asami yelp in surprise. Korra lets out a snort and quickly covers her mouth to try and hide her laughter. Tonraq finally releases Asami and she stumbles back, a little flustered and trying to collect herself. She looks at Korra with a bewildered expression on her face and Korra just grins and shrugs her shoulders.

“You can call me Tonraq, no need for the formalities. And as you can see, I’m a hugger.” Tonraq grins, “Thanks for convincing my Korr to come home, she’s stubborn as a mule, wouldn’t listen to me when I asked her to. Don’t know how you convinced her.”

Asami smiles and glances at Korra. She opens her mouth to speak but before she can get a word out, Bato comes barreling out the front door, heading straight for Korra.

“Koorrrrraaaaaa!” He roars, jumping up into her arms excitedly and wrapping his little arms around her neck.

“Bato! Ommff, did you get bigger since I’ve been gone.” Korra swings him in her arms and he squeals in delight. However, as soon as he lays eyes on Asami, he scrambles to escape from her grasp.

“Let go of me! I’m big, mighty Bato. I can’t be seen in the arms of an inferior. Move, woman!” Bato finally escapes from her hold and makes his way over to Asami, looking her up and down. Korra rolls her eyes, as she already knows what’s about to happen next.

“You’re very pretty. What’s your name, Stranger?” Bato asks Asami, absolutely no shame in his behavior.

Asami laughs and kneels down to be eye level with him. “My name’s Asami. It’s very nice to meet you Bato.”

“That’s King Bato to you, lady!” Bato yells, puffing out his chest dramatically.

Asami nods, a serious expression on her face. “Oh of course, my mistake King Bato.”

Bato gives a nod of approval. “I will allow this minor mishap pretty lady, but in the future, I might not be so forgiving.” With that, he sprints back into the house, yelling for Korra to come see his fort.

Korra shakes her head in slight embarrassment and gives Asami an apologetic smile. Asami just grins back at her.

  
“So, Korra’s biology teacher huh? Why, you look young enough to be in the same grade as Korra!” Tonraq says and Korra groans.

“Daaad, please.” She begs him, really not wanting to see her father interact with the woman she had a crush on. He always managed to somehow embarrass her, and she knew Asami wouldn’t let her hear the end of it back at school.

“What?!” Tonraq clasps his hand around Korra’s shoulder and pulls her into him roughly, ruffling up her hair. Korra smacks at his hand and tries to escape from his embrace, but he has an iron grip on her. Sighing in defeat, she looks up from his bear hold and notices Asami covering her mouth to hide her laughter. Korra makes a funky face at her.

“I was told that the biology teacher was an older woman, late sixties. A Miss Katara, I think? Just surprised, is all!”

Asami chuckles and nods her head, “Well actually you’re right Mr. Waters-”

“Tonraq.” He corrects her.

“My apologies, Tonraq.” Asami smiles, “Miss Katara was the biology teacher and I’ve been her assistant for a couple years, but recently I’ve been hired on to fulfill the position full time. So, I’ve been Korra’s teacher for the past couple months.”

“Ahhh I see. How’s my Korr been doing? She been giving you a tough time? Biology has never been her strong suit, ‘fraid she gets that from me.” Tonraq says.

“Ugggghh okay, I’m leaving.” Korra complains. She’s always hated people talking about her in front of her, like she wasn’t there.

“Actually Asami, we just ordered some pizza for dinner. Would you like to stay and eat with us? Before you get back on the road?” Tonraq asks, and Korra smacks her hand on her forehead. Her dad seemed intent on torturing her tonight.

Asami grins at the suggestion but then shakes her head. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to invade your family time like that, but I really do appreciate the offer. Besides, I’m thinking about taking my family jet back so I wouldn’t have to drive.”

Tonraq tilts his head in confusion. “A family jet huh? Wooweee, what’s the teacher’s salary at this school? I want in!” Tonraq laughs good naturedly, then squeezes Korra’s shoulder. “Alright, if you insist. Korr, I’ll let you say goodbye to your teacher. The pizza will be here soon so stay out here and grab it for me, will ya?”

Korra nods her head and Tonraq finally releases her from his grasp. He turns to Asami and offers her a huge grin, reaching his hand out to her instead of pulling her into a hug.

“It’s been an honor to meet you Asami. You’re gonna have to keep in contact with me about Korra’s progress okay?”

Asami accepts the handshake and smiles, “Will do Sir.”

Tonraq ruffles Korra’s hair once more before making his way back into the house, shouting for Bato to come clean up his mess in the living room.

Korra and Asami stand in silence for a moment before Asami sighs and looks up at the sky. Korra follows her gaze and then gets an idea.

“Do you have to board your jet at a certain time?” Korra asks, and Asami shakes her head no.

“You wanna see my sunset watching spot?” Korra smirks at her. Asami laughs but nods her head yes.

“Yes Korra, take me to your sunset watching spot.”

* * *

“I feel like the roles have been reversed. You promise you won’t kill me?” Asami mutters as she steps over a fallen tree branch.

Korra smiles at her mysteriously and wiggles her eyebrows. “Too late to back out now ‘Sami. Come on, we’re almost there.” Korra grabs her hand to help her climb the last few steps up the small slope and then leads her to a small clearing in the forest next to her house. There’s a makeshift bench in the center of the clearing and the trees part to give a clear beautiful view of the sky.

She hears Asami suck in a breath and turns to look at her. She’s staring at the view in awe, her mouth slightly ajar, her hand still resting in Korra’s. Korra is stuck in place as she studies her side profile, taking note of every freckle, the shape of her lips, the curve of her nose, the small, gold hoop earrings dangling from her ears. In this moment, she realizes that her feelings for Asami are so intense, she doesn’t think it’s just a crush anymore. She likes Asami. Really, _really_ likes her. She would give anything to age herself up or age Asami down so that they could be together. The overwhelmingly painful fact that this was impossible, and that they could never be together made her breath catch in her throat and brought stinging tears to her eyes.

She took a deep breath and ripped her gaze away, focusing instead on the changing colors in the sky. She feels Asami gently tug on her hand and looks down to see that she was directing them to sit on the makeshift bench. She follows her willingly and they both sit down to watch the sunset, still holding hands.

About fifteen minutes later, the sun is almost completely gone, and there’s only a little light left in the sky. Asami releases Korra’s hand and stretches her arms out, yawning. Korra is still staring wistfully at the sky, not wanting this moment to end but knowing that eventually, it has to.

“I love watching sunsets. They’re so beautiful.” Korra whispers.

“Yea…they are.” She hears Asami murmur. Korra turns to Asami with a gentle smile on her face, expecting Asami to still be looking at the sky, but to her surprise Asami is looking right at her. There’s a strange expression on her face, that same expression that was there just the night before, when Ronaldo had left them alone in the bathroom together. Korra can’t quite figure out what it means, but she can feel the energy around them shift suddenly, almost as if someone flipped a switch on. The smile slowly leaves Korra’s face and she nervously parts her mouth to say something, but at the last minute, she decides not to. She sees Asami’s eyes dart down to her lips for a split second and then back up to her eyes, looking deep into them, as if she’s searching for something.

Korra is beyond nervous, but she absolutely refuses to look away. Something’s happening. She’s not sure _what_ , but she knows somethings in the air is different. Her eyes wander down to Asami’s lips on their own, and she sees Asami bite her bottom lip slightly. Korra feels her skin break out in goosebumps and she suddenly loses all control of her inhibitions. She leans forward, closing the short distance between her and Asami, pressing their lips together softly.

She feels Asami stiffen at first, which makes her panic, but just as she’s about to pull away, Asami pulls her in deeper by her elbows, and Korra melts into the kiss.

It’s both the most exhilarating and calming experience of Korra’s life. Asami tastes like the mint bubblegum and fruit punch vitamin water that she had bought from the gas station earlier. She can’t think of anything that would _ever_ taste better. Korra tries her hardest to not seem as inexperienced as she really is, turning her head this way and that way, opening and closing her mouth at the pace Asami has set. She feels hot and cold at the same time, both drowsy and alert, high but grounded. The duality of the moment is killing her.

_‘My first kiss, my first kiss, my first kiss. Oh my God, I’m kissing Asami Sato, I’m kissing Asami Sato!’_ Her brain is screaming at her.

She slides a hand down to Asami’s waist, attempting to bring her even closer and she feels Asami whimper against her mouth. Asami tentatively brushes her tongue against Korra’s bottom lip, causing Korra to accidently let out a soft moan, but almost immediately, she regrets it. Asami’s body goes rigid and she stops kissing Korra, leaning back slightly. Korra opens her eyes, trying to figure out what she did wrong, only to notice the horrified look on Asami’s face.

Asami rips herself out of Korra’s grasp and stumbles backwards, almost tripping over a root in the process. She wipes her mouth off roughly with the back of her hand and directs a glare in Korra’s direction, making her recoil slightly. Korra has never seen Asami this angry before.

“Korra, what the _fuck_ is your problem? Why would you do that?” Asami yells at her. Korra scrambles to get up and starts walking towards Asami, but when Asami takes multiple steps back to keep their distance, she stops and folds her arms in front of her tightly, trying to keep herself from collapsing to the ground in shame and embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry Asami, I didn’t mean to! I got caught up in the moment, I-”

“Korra, I have a boyfriend. You’re my _student_. That was _completely_ out of line.” Asami spits out at her.

Korra feels hot tears threatening to fall and she struggles to hold them back. “I know Miss Sato, I’m sorry. I’m so _so_ sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to, I don’t know why I did that. Please, forgive me. Please don’t be mad at me.” Hard as she tried, Korra couldn’t hold back the wave of tears, and she sobbed as the dam broke free and released them. She didn’t dare look back up at Asami, but she imagined she was looking at her in disgust. For Korra to basically force herself onto her and then have the nerve to cry about it afterwards. And she had been so graceful about the whole “crush” thing. Their friendship was completely ruined now, Korra was sure of it.

Korra feels another sob rack through her body and crumples down to the ground. She couldn’t believe that just a couple seconds ago, she was the happiest she had been in a really long time. Korra feels a presence over her and for a moment she thinks Asami is walking by her to leave her all alone in the forest, but then she feels strong arms wrap around her and a hand cradles her head to a chest.

“Korra honey, I’m so sorry. Please stop crying, please stop, I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. Please baby, I’m so sorry.” Asami coos into her ear, rocking her gently. Asami brings Korra’s face from her chest and cups it in her hands. Before Korra can process what’s happening, Asami is pressing featherlight kisses all over her face, as if she’s trying to kiss the tears away. She kisses Korra on her eyes, her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, before finally settling on her lips, kissing them over and over again, until Korra stops crying and becomes breathless.

Korra starts returning the kisses and reaches up, wrapping her arms around Asami’s neck, pulling herself as close as she possibly could without breaking their lips apart. Suddenly Asami sobs and pulls away from Korra, unsteadily getting to her feet and shaking her head.

“Korra I can’t…I can’t _do_ this. Korra, you’re _seventeen,_ I can’t… I’m so sorry, I can’t…” Asami has tears streaming down her face.

Korra tries to get up and go to her but Asami takes one step back, then another.

“Asami wait.”

Asami shakes her head, “I shouldn’t have done that. I have to go. I’m so sorry, I have to go, I…” Asami doesn’t finish her sentence. She suddenly bolts towards the direction of the house.

“Asami!” Korra yells, before taking off to follow her. “Asami wait!”

Korra trips over tree roots and branches as she runs after Asami but finally makes it back to her house, just in time to see Asami start the car and peel out of the driveway.

“Asami!” Korra calls, but she doesn’t get a response. She watches as Asami speeds off, leaving Korra dazed and confused in the middle of the dirt road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk I feel like this is a pretty decent place to leave off at for the next week or so! I have midterms next week, so I’ll be studying hard and won’t be able to work on this again until the weekend, but I hope you guys enjoyed. <3 <3


	11. Static-Ari Lennox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami makes a big decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Don't let the static drown us~  
> TW in end notes.

~Asami~

Asami stared out of the backseat window of her chauffeur’s car, silently taking in the scenery as they sped down the street and towards her home. She was still jittery from the events that had transpired just hours before, plus she was exhausted from the long car ride down to drop Korra off, so she had called one of her father’s drivers to come pick her up from the airport. She didn’t trust herself to drive; she really didn’t trust herself with anything right now.

It scared her honestly, how good it felt to kiss Korra; how _right_ it felt. Her lips were so soft, and she had kissed Asami so gently, as if she was the most fragile, precious thing in the world. The image of Korra staring at her in wonder after their first kiss still burned in her memory every single time she shut her eyes. And then Asami had snapped. She panicked. She didn’t mean to leave Korra in the forest but her first reaction was to run. As far away as possible.

She had kissed Korra, her _student_. She felt so perverted and disgusting. June was right; she had no self-control. What scared her the most, however, wasn’t the fact that she had kissed Korra, but how much she wanted to do it again. Asami snorted in disbelief at her thoughts and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to clear her head. This was ridiculous. It had to be some sort of hormonal imbalance or mid-20s crisis. There was absolutely no way she was this sprung over a _teenager_. But Korra wasn’t like a majority of the teenagers Asami had interacted with; Korra wasn’t like _anyone_ Asami had ever met. She was sweet and caring and gentle. She genuinely wanted to help Asami in any way that she could. _That’s_ what Asami liked about her, right? She was just confused because no one else had treated her the way Korra did. Maybe in time, she could get Mako to treat her that way, or make her feel like Korra did, or-

“Miss Sato? We’ve arrived at your destination.” Louie made eye contact with her in the rearview mirror, his eyes squinting in mild concern. “You okay back there, Miss? You look mighty pale.”

Asami sighed and gave a soft smile. “I’m fine Louie, just a bit tired. I haven’t slept in almost a day.”

Louie nodded his head and unlocked the car door for her to get out. “You make sure you get you some rest now. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Asami nodded her head and stepped out the car. “Thank you, Louie. See you tomorrow.”

She shut the door and started walking towards her house before she stopped suddenly and turned around, her mouth dropping open slightly in confusion.

_‘Tomorrow? I don’t have any plans tomorrow, why would he need to…’_

“Louie, wait! What do you mea-” Asami trails off as Louie’s car speeds down the road. Asami sighed, then turned back around and headed to her front door. He probably meant to say ‘see you soon’. Louie had been her father’s chauffeur ever since Asami could remember, and he was already old back then. Maybe his memory was starting to slip.

She dug through her purse for her keys and unbolted the door, intent on heading straight to her room, ripping off her bra and sleeping off the past 24 hours. Hopefully her brain would come up with a way to apologize to Korra and then get over…whatever these _feelings_ she had were.

She’s halfway to the staircase when she feels a presence and darts her eyes towards her living room. _Shit._

“Welcome home bitch.” June smirks at her, leaning on the archway frame between the foyer and the living room.

“June what are you doing here? It’s like one in the morning?” Asami said, trying to keep her voice steady. She knew if she showed even a hint of uncertainty or nervousness, June would pounce on her, but the way she was looking at her made Asami feel like she already knew _everything_.

“I let myself in. Figured if hot stuff wasn’t able to somehow convince you to stay the night at her house, you’d probably come straight home. How _is_ Korra, by the way?” June questioned, tilting her head to the side and studying Asami’s face intently. Asami tensed when heard Korra’s name but tried to play it off.

“She’s fine.” Asami said quickly, too quickly. “It was a long drive and she was exhausted, fell right to sleep as soon as she got home. I didn’t wanna intrude so I left a little after.” Asami added, trying to cover it up, but it was too late. June squinted her eyes at Asami and then slowly walked towards her, her hands on her hips.

“Cut the crap, Asami. Suki called me.” Asami sucked in a breath and averted her gaze.

“Really? What did she say?” Asami asked innocently.

“You know what she said. I know how you get when you’re drunk. And I know how you feel about Korra. And since I know your dick of a boyfriend wasn’t waiting at home for you that night…Is there anything you might wanna tell me?”

Asami suddenly felt dizzy and clumsily made her way to sit down on the first step of the staircase, putting her head in her hands.

“I don’t know what you want from me.” She whimpered. June wasn’t letting her get away this easy, however. She knelt down in front of Asami and gently took her hands away from her face, squeezing them gently and slowly rubbing her thumbs over Asami’s knuckles.

“Asami. Tell me what happened.” She said gently.

Asami shook her head, silent tears falling down her face. “I don’t know what’s happening to me June, I don’t-” She felt an uncontrollable sob rack through her body as June cradled Asami into her chest.

“Calm down, Asami. Shhhh calm down. Just tell me what happened. Start from the beginning.”

Asami sniffled and pulled away from June, taking a deep breath and starting from the beginning. She told June how her father had come earlier that day and stressed her out and how Korra was there for her. How she had almost kissed her after Ronaldo had left them alone in the bathroom. How at the dinner, she was pulled to the side and groped and assaulted by one of her father’s longtime business investor and best friend, and when she had tried to tell Mako, he told her to just let it go. She started drinking shortly after that. Her father had approached her and Asami had tried her hardest to tell him she was ready to go back home but he waved her off and kept having her entertain guest after guest. Paraded her around the room like she was his prized puppet. She kept downing glass after glass of champagne. Eventually her mind was hazy enough for her to pretend like everything was okay. She flitted around the room, smiling, laughing, the perfect hostess. The perfect daughter.

Her father’s announcement was what made her snap. His decision to pass his business down to his lifelong best friend and long-time investor after he retired. The same man who had groped her earlier that day. Asami wanted nothing to do with the business. Had begged her father to just let her go. He knew she hated these events and the people here. Hated having to be in the spotlight, but he had insisted that she be there. He had made her feel so bad, so guilty about not wanting it, telling her he had no one else he could trust it with. All of that, just to not actually need her anyways; just to hand it to someone else. So, she snapped.

“ _Fuck you_.” She had sneered at him from the front of the crowd, pointing an accusing finger at her father. A small gasp went through the audience as Asami continued to curse out her father, before finally swiveling around and letting her rage out on the guests.

“Fuck _all_ of you. You’re all _miserable_ and _fake_. You go to these dumbass charity events to make up for the fact that you’re all filthy, disgusting sons of bitches with a kink for little girls in pigtails and cocaine addictions. You all are _predators_! You all make me _sick_.”

At this point, Hiroshi had security drag her out the room, much to the amusement of his future replacement. The rest of the night was still a little hazy, but she remembers Korra. Looking up from the ground and seeing the concern in Korra’s eyes. Korra wiping her makeup off, delicately plucking the fake eyelashes of her eyelids and cupping Asami’s face gently in her hands when she thought Asami had passed out. Korra’s hands on her hips, rolling herself upwards to meet Asami’s thrust, her pupils so dilated that her eyes looked black, how she had gasped Asami’s name. And then the ride home the next day. The sunset. The kiss.

“June I…I kissed her. _Twice_. I could have stopped her. I could have pulled away the first time, but I _didn’t_. What’s _wrong_ with me?” Asami sobbed, dropping her head back down on June’s shoulder, tears streaming down her face.

“Nothing’s wrong with you ‘Sami. You got a lot of shit on your plate and Korra was there for you, maybe even more than me.” Asami feels June run her hands soothingly up and down her back. She pulls back and sees that June is frowning.

“Hey, it’s not your job to babysit me. You’re there for me when it counts. You’ve been with me for years.”

June snorts, “Yea bitch, I know I have. Still waiting on my award. But you really like Korra, don’t you?”

Asami grimaced but she couldn’t run from this. The feelings were there, whether she wanted to admit them or not. She liked Korra. She _really_ liked Korra. Asami nodded her head softly.

“June…what do I do?” Asami whispered.

June shrugged “Well…nothing, I guess. At least not until she graduates or turns 18. When’s her birthday?”

“January 10th.” Asami responded immediately, making June smirk at her.

“What?”

“Wow pervert, I see you’re keeping tabs on her.”

Asami’s face reddened as she realized how her fast answer made her look.

“No! I wasn’t… I didn’t mean it like tha-, I just… I already knew, I-” Asami sputtered. June laughed and lightly slapped Asami on her cheek.

“I’m fuckin with you ‘Sami.” She said in a sing-song voice. Asami glared at her but then smiled tenderly.

“So…you gonna tell Mako about the kiss?” June asked.

_Damn._ Asami hadn’t even _thought_ about Mako until June had inquired about him. She supposed she should, but she honestly wasn’t even sure she _had_ a relationship with him anymore after that night. She tried to push down the slight feeling of hope that the thought had brought on.

Asami shook her head. “No, I’m not telling him about that. Honestly June, I don’t even know if he wants to be with me anymore. He…he left me on the ground. Along with my father. He looked so disgusted with me, like I was trash on the side of the road, I-” Asami feels tears coming and stops talking, trying to will herself not to cry again.

June nodded understandingly. “You know I’ve always thought he was a dick. And stiff. You’re a prude, well at least when you’re sober,” Asami shoved June’s shoulder, making her laugh, “but you’re not stiff. Honestly, what do you see in him? I _know_ it’s not the sex.”

Asami sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know…He was sweet when we first started dating. A real gentleman. He had a respectable job. And…Daddy liked him. He’s never liked any man I brought home before so…I thought Mako was it.”

“And what do you think now?” June asked her quietly.

Asami paused before answering, Korra flashing through her mind.

“I don’t…I don’t know anymore.”

* * *

Asami had decided to call Mako tomorrow morning, since it was way too late by the time June left. She had knocked out around 3 am and had really wanted to sleep in, but her body wouldn’t let her sleep past 9. She begrudgingly dragged herself out of bed and to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. She’s about to take the first sip when her phone rings, making her jump slightly. For a second, she panics, thinking that it might be Korra, and she really wasn’t ready to hear her voice again just yet.

She looks down at the caller ID and to her surprise, Mako’s name is flashing across the screen. Taking a deep breath, she answers the phone.

“Hey Mako.” She sighs, his name feeling weird rolling off her tongue.

“Hey Asami.” He responds, and an awkward silence ensues. Asami racks her brain for the apology that she had planned out in its entirety early this morning, but she comes up blank. Desperate to fill the silence, she starts blurting out the first words that come to her mind.

“Baby, listen I’m-”

“Asami, about the other night-” Mako says at the same time. They both stop when they realize the other was talking.

“You go first.” Asami says.

Mako sighs into the phone. “Listen Asami, I…I forgive you.”

“Oh.” Asami says, shocked. She wasn’t expecting that. She thought he would be angry with her, would tell her how disgusting her behavior was, that he was ashamed to be associated with her and didn’t want to be her boyfriend anymore. But instead, he forgave her. For some reason this made her… _angry_.

“I wanna see you tonight.” Mako continues, shocking the sudden rush of anger right back out of her. “Louie will be there to get you. Eight pm at Kwong’s Cuisine.”

“Oh um…okay yea, I can…I can do that.” She stammers, even though Mako didn’t really ask her, more so just told her that’s what she would be doing tonight.

“Okay…okay good. I love you Asami.”

“I love you,” Asami hears the phone click off before she can finish, “Too.”

Asami sits at her kitchen table, her head still spinning in confusion and a knot forming in her stomach. Something was wrong. She felt it in the air. They rarely ever went to Kwong’s Cuisine, only for super special occasions. And Mako had sounded tense, apprehensive. Forced.

She suddenly remembered how Louie had told her he would see her tomorrow. Asami had shrugged it off as forgetfulness due to old age but what if something really was happening? What if her father was behind Mako’s forgiveness? She figured that should make her feel relieved. She had really fucked up Thanksgiving night, and she knew her father probably had to pay a hefty amount of money to keep her antics out of the press. If her father was behind all this, that had to mean he forgave her too, right? Asami massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on. She knew her father’s forgiveness usually always came with a price. She would have to pay for embarrassing him that night, somehow, someway.

She spent the rest of the day pacing her office, trying to get some work done but eventually feeling so antsy sitting down that she would _have_ to get up and walk around. By the time she started getting ready for her and Mako’s date, her legs were sore. She took a hot shower to try and steam some of the ache away, then carefully applied her makeup and put on Mako’s favorite evening gown, spritzing herself with his favored perfume. She let her hair hang loose and clipped it back on both sides, letting some tendrils hang down in the front. He always said he liked her hair this way.

Around 7:30 pm, she heard a car horn beep once, politely, and she knew that was Louie telling her to come down. She looked over herself once more in the mirror and, satisfied with her appearance, quickly made her way downstairs and to the car.

Louie was in a Sato Limousine this time, one of the newest editions that her father had just released a week or two ago. Her stomach clenched up with nervousness; there was no denying it now. Something was happening tonight. Her father was going to make her pay off her debt.

She silently slipped into the car and gave a stiff nod in greeting to Louie. He nodded back and started driving, turning on jazz music to fill the tense silence. Asami kept her eyes trained down in her lap, her anxiety rising the closer they got to the restaurant. She couldn’t help but feel like she was being driven to her execution.

They finally arrived at Kwong’s and Louie hopped out of the car to open her door for her. He held out his hand and she clung to it, pulling herself out of the car as gracefully as she could.

“You keep your head up, Miss Sato.” Louie whispered to her, before squeezing her hand gently and letting her go.

Asami watched the car take off down the road before taking a deep breath, turning around and starting her slow journey to the front door of the restaurant. She was surprised to see it so empty on a Saturday night: Kwong’s was usually crawling with people on weekend nights. She approaches the giant double doors and prepares herself to go in when she suddenly feels a gentle tug on her arm. She turns around and gasps in surprise.

“Suki? What on earth are you doing here?”

Suki looks worried and anxious. Her hair is in a sloppy ponytail and she’s wearing pajama pants, as if she had leapt out of bed and dashed over here as soon as she could.

“Asami I tried to warn you before you got here but the call kept dropping.” Suki said, a little breathlessly.

Asami furrowed her eyebrows. “ _Warn_ me? What would you need to-?” Asami is cut short by the restaurant doors being flung open and turns her attention to the scene in front of her, only to be frozen in shock by what she sees.

The entire bottom floor of the restaurant has been completely rearranged, with the tables organized neatly around the ballroom floor and a huge red carpet going from the door to the stage in the center of the room. Asami is temporarily blinded by a flashing white light, followed by the familiar shutter of a camera’s lens. People are lined up on both sides of the red carpet, familiar faces. The same faces that she had cussed out the night before. Before she has time to be embarrassed, the crowd parts slightly and Mako emerges out of it, beaming as he strides towards her, keeping one hand tucked carefully into his pocket.

Asami hears a camera click to her right and turns her head towards the noise, catching the gaze of her father in the process. He’s smiling at her, and to anyone else it would look genuine, but Asami knows.

_‘This is it…this is how you repay the debt.’_ His eyes seem to scream at her.

Asami swallows past the lump in her throat and turns her attention back to Mako. He cusps her face gently, bringing her mouth to his in a delicate kiss before he drops down to one knee and fishes a small, black box out of his pocket.

He’s talking, at least Asami thinks he’s talking, and she’s sure if she could hear him, he would be talking about how much he loves her, and honors her, and wants to spend the rest of his life doing so, all the usual bullshit that people who are genuinely in love are supposed to say. But Asami can’t hear anything. All she can hear is static, white noise, that fuzzy, heart-wrenching sound that the radio makes when it doesn’t work, _refuses_ to work no matter how hard you hit it or what station you turn it to.

This was Asami’s life. This was her destiny. This is what she deserved.

“Asami Sato…will you marry me?” Mako asked, looking up at her in earnest.

Asami could feel the tension in the room as everyone waited for her answer. She felt her father’s eyes boring into her. She couldn’t delay answering for a second longer, or else the reaction would look ingenuine to the press. So, she answered the way she always had, the way she probably always would.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: slight mention of sexual assault


	12. The Beautiful Ones-Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra confronts Asami about her decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~The beautiful ones, they hurt you everytime~

~Korra~

Her phone sat heavy in her lap, taunting her. For the fifth time in ten minutes, Korra picks it up and goes to her messages with Asami, her fingers hovering over the keys to type, but again, she chickens out and drops her phone back down in her lap. She sighs and leans her head back against the car window, watching the trees go by.

It’s been almost two days since…what happened in the forest, and Korra really wanted to text Asami about it, but she couldn’t seem to find the courage to. What would she even say?

‘Hey, I know I’m your student, but I really like you and kissing you was the most ethereal experience I’ve ever had in my life. Break up with your boyfriend and date me’? Yea, like that would ever happen.

Why did her first crush have to be on Asami? Out of all the people she could have liked, why her? Did the kiss even mean anything to Asami? She wasn’t drunk when she kissed her, so that means she actually wanted Korra, right? So, Asami liked her back. At least…that’s what it means when someone kisses you back right? Korra would kill to have her mother here to talk about stuff like this. Her dad was sweet, but he wasn’t really good at giving relationship advice, at least not without twisting it into a joke and making Korra so embarrassed that she would just want to drop the entire conversation. No, her dad’s job was just to let her know that he accepted her no matter what. Her mother was supposed to be in charge of the real stuff, but she had left before Korra had any experiences, and now…now Korra was alone.

Her cell phone buzzes in her lap and she looks down to see that she has a text from Kya. Korra smiles as she picks the device up to read it. Okay…maybe she wasn’t _completely_ alone. Kya could give Korra pretty good advice when she wasn’t being a horn ball. And Kya hadn’t dived into what happened with Lin, but Korra at least knew that she had experience with liking girls and being in relationships in general. Maybe she could help Korra interpret Asami’s actions.

Korra groaned when she read the text.

**Kya :(**

Sooooo….have you set a date with Kuzon yet???

**Korra**

No Kya, I keep telling you Idk if im ready

**Kya :(**

Ur literally gonna die a virgin

**Korra**

Fuck u! im fighting u when I get back

**Kya :(**

As long as it ends in a steamy make-out sesh :))))

Rolling her eyes, Korra clicked her phone off and then leaned her head back against the window. She felt her dad looking over at her and turned to meet his gaze, sticking her tongue out at him.

“What are you looking at, old man?” she teased.

“Oh nothing, just a wild teenager in its natural habitat.” Tonraq smirked at her.

Korra growled and barred her teeth, pretending like she was about to attack. She heard Bato let out a squeal of delight and turned to see him squirming around in his car seat.

“Aniimaalll fiiighhtt! I’m a lion, and Korra is a tiger, and Daddy is a Giraffe! What noises do Giraffes make daddy?” Bato yelled.

Tonraq stroked his beard and hummed as if he was in deep thought.

“That’s a great question, little lion man. I don’t know what kind of noises giraffes make.”

They go back and forth for a while, but Korra shifts her attention back to the window, her mind taking her back to Asami. What would happen now? Would Asami avoid her? Run from her again? Would she want Korra to pretend like the whole thing never happened? Korra didn’t know if would be able to do that. The closer she got to school, the more anxious she felt about confronting Asami.

Hours later, they finally pull into the Omashu Academy parking lot. Korra quickly hops out of the car and grabs her stuff from the trunk. 

“You got your plane ticket right Korr? And Kya’s parents are okay with giving you a ride to the airport?” Tonraq asks, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. Korra blushes from his affections but doesn’t try to pull away.

“Yea Dad, they’re in my backpack. I’ll see you on the 21st. I love you.”

“Love you too, Korr. Bato come say goodbye to your big sister.” Tonraq says.

Bato unbuckles his seatbelt and waits until he has Korra’s attention, then springs out of the car, making her catch him and swoop him up into the air. He squeals happily.

“Goodbye my little Bato lion. I’ll see you for winter break.” Korra hugs him close to her chest, before setting him down on the ground. He quickly attaches himself to her legs and looks up at her with puppy dog eyes.

“I’ll miss you Korr. Please come back soon, Daddy’s not as fun as you.” Bato pouts.

Korra laughs and ruffles the top of his head. “I’ll be back real soon Bato, I promise.” She breaks away from him and then picks up her stuff from the sidewalk.

“I love you guys!” She yells, waving goodbye as they hop back into the car and then pull out of the parking lot.

Korra makes her way back to her room and is relieved to see that Kya isn’t there yet. She didn’t feel like being scolded about not scheduling a date with Kuzon yet. Plus, she needed to hurry up and talk to Asami before the rest of year 11 girls arrived. Before she lost her nerve.

Korra quickly dumped her stuff next to her bed and ran to the bathroom to check her appearance. She wiped her face with a cold, wet towel and attempted to straighten her ponytail, but her hair was being unruly today, so she opted to just leave it down and push it back with a headband. She put on her small, silver hoops that Asami had told her she liked one day after class and spritzed herself with a little perfume. She debated putting on lip gloss but decided that would probably be too obvious, so she settled for Chapstick and then made her way to Asami’s room.

Korra anxiously made her way downstairs and stood in front of Asami’s door. She raised her hand to knock, but then put it back down almost immediately.

_‘Fuck, I can’t do this. I can’t do this. What if she doesn’t wanna see me? What do I even say? I can’t-’_

Korra is interrupted mid-nervous breakdown by Asami swinging the door open and almost bumping into Korra. They make eye contact and Korra feels a burst of energy flow through her veins. Asami has her hair up in a messy bun, she has on sweats and a tank top, and she’s wearing her glasses (Korra loves when she wears her glasses). She looks beautiful but Korra can’t help but notice that something about her looks…off.

_‘Why does she look so…tired? Like she’s been crying?’_

“Korra.” Asami whispers. Korra didn’t realize how much she missed the sound of her voice until just now.

“Hi Asa- Miss Sato.” She wasn’t sure if she was still on first name basis. Asami offers her a small smile and Korra feels the slightest bit of hope swell up in her chest.

“Umm…can I?” Korra gestures towards Asami’s room. Asami nods and opens the door slightly, letting Korra pass by her. Korra takes a minute to aimlessly stare around the room while Asami closes the door and takes a seat in the lounge chair next to her bed, crossing her legs.

A long, uncomfortable silence follows, and Korra feels herself break out into a nervous sweat. This is not how she imagined their reunion going. After what feels like hours, Korra finally breaks the silence, seeing that Asami isn’t going to. She turns around to face her and finds Asami looking down at her hands in her lap, fiddling with her fingers.

“Asami…what…what happened that night? Why did you kiss me?” Korra says, holding her arms behind her back nervously. Asami finally looks up at Korra with a grimace on her face.

“I’m so sorry about that Korra. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to. It was a mistake. I was under a lot of stress and-”

“A mistake?” Korra asks incredulously. She had gotten over the initial heartbreak at Asami’s reaction to her presence and now felt that heartbreak being replaced with anger. So, kissing her was a mistake now? Seriously?

Asami press her lips tightly together and turns her face away from Korra. This has the unintentional effect of pissing Korra off even more.

“Walking in on me masturbating was a mistake. Almost having sex with me while you were drunk was a mistake.” Korra snaps and Asami whips her head back around, her face twisting in quiet anger. Korra tried to ignore how her lower region reacted to seeing Asami this fired up.

“I already _apologized_ for those things; you don’t have to hold the-” Asami hisses but Korra cuts her off.

“Asami, you were stone-cold _sober_ when you kissed me. And you _knew_ how I felt about you. Why would you do it? If you knew it would be such a big mistake to you.” Korra feels tears swelling up in her eyes and she angrily wipes at her face. She felt like such a stupid child. She had a snowball’s chance in hell with Asami, and she knew it, but that didn’t stop her mind from running rampant with hope for the past couple of days.

Korra didn’t notice when Asami had gotten up, but suddenly there she was right in front of her, wrapping Korra up into a warm embrace, rubbing her hands soothingly up and down her back.

“Korra I’m sorry, okay. This isn’t fair on you. If I could take it all back, I swear I would.”

Korra feels anger bubbling back up in her chest and rips away from Asami’s hold. Was she serious right now?

“Get _off_ of me.” Korra sneered, shooting a venom-filled glare at her. Asami’s eyes widen in surprise and she takes a couple steps backwards.

“You’re telling me you feel _nothing_? And you would take it back? You’re _lying.”_ Korra wipes her hand across her eyes again and tries to calm her breathing down.

“Don’t lie to me Asami. Look me in my eyes and tell me you don’t feel anything.”

Asami looks startled. “Korra-”

“ _Tell me_.” Korra demands and Asami goes from looking startled to angry again.

“Korra, lower your voice.”

“ _Asami.”_

“ _Okay!”_ Asami yells, flopping down onto the chair and leaning forward to put her elbows on her knees, her hands covering her face. “Okay.” again, but softly.

“I…I have feelings for you. Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now?” She takes her head out of her palms to shoot a glare in Korra’s direction, but Korra ignores it.

_‘She likes me back. She really…I can’t believe this. She likes me back.”_

Her body moves on autopilot, rushing forward to press her lips against Asami’s. She almost sighs in relief at the feeling. They’re softer than she remembered them being last time. Her hands come up to cradle Asami’s face and she hears Asami let out a soft whimper as she starts to kiss Korra back. Encouraged, Korra softly pushes Asami back against the chair and straddles her, still keeping their lips intact. She brushes her tongue lightly against Asami’s bottom lip, the same way she had done to Korra before.

“Mmph.” Asami breaks away from the kiss, panting slightly. “Korra, stop. I can’t…get off. Get _off now!_ ” Asami shoves Korra off from her lap and sits up. Korra flushes in embarrassment, but she’s confused. She doesn’t understand what the problem is. She likes Asami and Asami likes her back. That’s how relationships are supposed to start right? Korra knew their situation was different but surely, they could make something work.

“Asami, I don’t get it. I thought you li-”. It’s now that Korra notices the shining diamond attached to Asami’s ring finger.

“Asami what is that?” Korra fixes her gaze on the stud, waiting for an answer.

Asami doesn’t give her one, just folds her hands in her lap and stares at Korra’s feet.

That had to be a family heirloom or something. Even though this was Korra’s first time seeing it. There was just no way. There was _absolutely_ no way she could be-

“You’re _marrying_ him?” Korra asks in shock. Asami is still quiet but she nods her head yes.

“Asami, don’t be ridiculous. He doesn’t care about you! He left you passed out on the concrete. Didn’t even wait to see if you made it in the house okay. I don’t even think he loves you, Asami you’ve gotta be kidding me.” Korra says in disbelief.

“Shut up!” Asami yells suddenly. “Just…just shut up! You don’t know anything about me. Or what’s good for me. Don’t you _dare_ sit here and judge me for my decision. Mako’s a good man; he _loves_ me. And I love _him._ ” Asami glares at Korra.

“You’re _pathetic_.” Korra says, her voice dripping in disgust. She’s at the end of her rope and wanting Asami to feel the same pain she felt. She knew this was low, and that she would come to regret this later, but it’s like she wasn’t in control of her mouth anymore.

“You’re _weak_. And a _pushover_. And a _liar._ Always doing whatever you can to make everyone else happy, even at your own demise.”

Asami stands up from her chair and strides toward Korra, fire in her eyes.

“ _Get the fuck out of my room. Now.”_ She says venomously, towering over Korra.

“ _Fuck you.”_ Korra spits back, and then whirled around to exit the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

The next couple of weeks were nearly unbearable. She sulked around the school, not wanting to talk to anyone or do anything, and she absolutely _dreaded_ going to 6th period. It was too late in the year to go back to sitting at the back of the classroom, so she was stuck at the front, right next to Asami’s desk. Her method was to keep her head low, not make eye contact, not talk, just pretend that she wasn’t even in the same room as the woman who had just ripped her heart out of her chest and torn it in two.

She buried herself in school and volleyball, finding out that she felt the best when sweat was dripping from her body and her muscles ached in the good way that they do after an intense workout. It distracted her from the ever-present ache in her chest.

Her friends noticed something was off, but didn’t bug her about it, especially when she told Kya to tell everyone it had to do with her mother. She knew that Kya knew she was lying, but Kya let it slide, which Korra was extremely thankful for. There was simply no way to tell your best friend that you essentially got dumped by your biology teacher.

To add insult to injury, Asami had started to go home on the weekends, so Korra was forced to witness her and Mako snuggle up in the school parking lot every Friday afternoon before taking off in his car together. Well, not forced exactly. She supposed she didn’t _have_ to watch from the window of the front office, but she had appointments with the school counselor every Friday and since she didn’t spend them with Asami anymore…she figured she could use the extra hour of sleep in the mornings. It wasn’t _her_ fault that the sessions ended around the same time that Asami was being picked up. But still…she could look away, couldn’t she?

It was like a knife being plunged into her heart every time she saw them together. Saw him wrap Asami up in his arms and press a gentle kiss to her lips, rub his palms roughly over her ass and press her closer to him. Asami would laugh and playfully push him away, but allow him to pull her back in, planting one more passionate kiss before finally breaking apart and getting into the car. Korra decided then that she would never develop a crush on anybody ever again. The heartache wasn’t worth it.

Korra had built up a habit by then. She would sulk in class, keep her head low, do her work, turn it in, and then slip out as soon as the bell offered her the freedom to. That’s why Asami calling her name at the end of class one day surprised her. She had almost forgot how her name sounded coming out of Asami’s mouth.

“Korra? Can you stay for a minute after class please?” Korra looks up from packing up her things in shock, meeting Asami’s gaze for the first time in two weeks.

“Uh, sure.” She mumbles and drops her backpack down on the ground, settling into her desk chair.

Asami waits for the last student to file out of the classroom before closing the door softly and making her way back to the front of the classroom. Korra keeps her eyes trained on her desk. She would rather be anywhere else in the world right now, then sitting in this room with Asami.

“Korra,” Asami starts, hesitant. Korra doesn’t look up.

“Korra, are you doing okay?”

Korra almost laughs, the question is so ridiculous.

“Oh, I’m doing great Miss Sato. Thank you for asking.” Korra says sweetly.

“Korra I’m being serious.”

“So am I. Never felt better honestly, you can ask Coach Kuvira. I’ve really been applying myself in practice.” Korra starts to get up. “If you’ll excuse me Miss Sato, I really do have to get going. I have an appointment with the school counselor, ya know, with me being mentally unstable and all.”

“Korra, sit down.” Asami says sternly. Korra rolls her eyes but complies, dropping herself back heavily into her seat and sighing.

“I talked to Mary, so she expects you to be a couple minutes late.” Asami informs her.

Korra doesn’t say anything. Maybe if she stays quiet, Asami will just give up and let her leave.

“Korra I’m concerned about your performance in class.”

“Why?” Korra snaps, lifting her head up to return Asami’s gaze. “I’m doing the homework and getting good marks on it. I know what’s going on in the class. What’s the problem?”

“The problem is participation Korra. You haven’t been speaking up in class. That’s also a part of your grade. Your classmates could benefit from hearing your thoughts.”

“Are you serious? I’m in trouble because I’m not talking?” Korra crosses her arms in front of her and glares at Asami.

“Yes, Korra. I’m serious.” Asami persists, crossing her arms and staring right back at Korra.

Korra loses her nerve and drops her head down. “You know why I don’t wanna talk in your class. Please just…just leave me alone. _Please_.” She whispers.

She hears Asami inhale sharply before she moves from her desk to kneel down in front of Korra, placing a hand on her knee. Korra jerks away from the touch, but not before she feels the heat from Asami’s hand travel up her thigh and to her chest. Her heart clenches painfully.

“Don’t _touch_ me.” Korra murmurs.

Asami moves her hand away, a hurt expression on her face, but she stays in front of Korra.

“Korra you have to let this go. Please. Even if we can’t be friends again like how we were, I don’t want you hating me over something I can’t control.”

“You _can_ control this.” Korra snaps. Asami just shakes her head.

“Korra you know I can’t be with you like that. You’re my _student_.”

“But you like me back? We could make it work; I wouldn’t tell anybody Asami, please I-” Korra feels tears well up and huffs in annoyance, wiping her eyes with her sleeve; she really didn’t feel like crying right now.

Asami tentatively reaches out to hug Korra, and when she sees that Korra isn’t going to push her away, she wraps her arms around her. She gently guides Korra up to a standing position and without thinking, Korra wraps her hands around Asami’s waist, burying her face in Asami’s chest and letting the tears fall silently. Asami sways them back and forth, her hands pressed against Korra’s back.

“Korra, you have to let me go. You deserve someone better than me. Someone who can show you off and boast about you to their friends. Someone who can hold your hand and kiss you in public, without feeling ashamed or afraid of being caught” Asami whispers into her hair, kissing it gently. Korra sniffles and pulls away slightly, still keeping her hands around Asami’s waist and looking up into her eyes.

“But I don’t care about any of that. Asami, I want _you_.” Korra begs, too desperate to care about her pride or her ego.

Asami closes her eyes and lets out a breath, tickling Korra’s nose.

_‘God why is she so beautiful?’_

“I’m so sorry, Korra. I really am.” She sighs.

Later that night, Korra lays in her bed, her heart still raw from earlier. This was it. Asami had chosen him over Korra. She was getting married to him, and would most likely leave the school shortly after, forgetting all about Korra. She had to move on. Korra remembered Kya making a joke about the best way to get over someone being to get _under_ someone else. Korra figured there might be some truth to that.

_‘Fuck it. What have I got to lose?’_

She reaches over and grabs her phone off of her nightstand, searching for their messages.

**Korra**

Hey dork, sorry for texting so late :(

U still up for that rematch? I think I can squeeze you in for a butt whoopin on Sunday :)>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End...HAHAHAHA just kidding :)> Ooooo first fight! And probably the last tbh, this shit was incredibly difficult to write, I hate seeing my babies mad at each other. :( But it gets better guys, I promise! Like really soon!


	13. If Only-Raveena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami makes *another* big decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~It's too late to hold me, too late to call me too~

~Asami~

Asami clenches her jaw and keeps her eyes trained on the ceiling, clutching onto Mako’s arms as he awkwardly pumps in and out of her. She lets out an occasional moan to feign interest, but she’s sure he wouldn’t care anyways. Sneaking a glance at him, she sees that his eyes are screwed shut, his breaths erratic and shallow as he focuses on his release. She sighs and wraps her legs around him, trying to meet his thrusts, encouraging him to hurry up and finish.

“Ahhhh baby, you feel so gooood. Cum for me, baby. _Please._ ” She lets out another fake moan to really sell the performance and watches in mild disgust as Mako grunts and pulls out of her, emptying himself onto her stomach. He sighs in relief and rolls from on top of her, sinking into the pillows. Asami waits for his breathing to become even, indicating that he’s fallen asleep. She stares at the ceiling while she waits, feeling soiled and used, but it’s a feeling she’s becoming accustomed to after having sex with Mako, especially since they’ve been engaged.

She used to put more effort into pretending to be turned on, but now it takes everything in her to even do that. She’s started to just lie there and allow him to do whatever he wanted, willing him to hurry up and get it over with.

Once she’s sure he’s asleep, she carefully slides out of bed and makes her to the bathroom to wipe herself off. Asami stares at her reflection in the mirror, the dark circles under her eyes, the hollowness of her cheeks. A single tear runs down her face, followed by another, and another, until she’s full on crying and trying her hardest not to sob so that she doesn’t wake Mako up.

This is her life now. This would be her life, married to Mako, locked under her father’s iron grip. She supposed she would have small moments of happiness, perhaps when they had children. She would dedicate all her time and energy to them, teaching them to walk and talk, taking her future baby girl to ballet practice or maybe even soccer, since Asami’s mom refused to conform to gender roles, so she wouldn’t force her child to either. Unless, of course, her father had a say in anything. He would most likely want his grandchildren to be ideal members of society.

Asami had accepted that her father never had any intentions on passing down the business to her. She was his trophy, his plaything to show off and convince potential investors to do business with him. Nothing more than a pretty face and manners to match. The thought really should have made her sick, angry, upset, _anything,_ but she had been so numb recently. She didn’t know if being numb was better than feeling the overwhelming sadness she felt lurking in the shadows, just out of her sight.

She knew that her days at Omashu Academy were limited with the combined forces of Mako and her father. They would snatch away her only remaining source of happiness. She would never move out of Omashu, never be a research assistant…never see Korra again.

At the thought of Korra, a fresh wave of tears poured down her face and she doubled over in pain.

_‘Jesus Christ, okay yes, it’s better to be numb. It’s better to be numb.’_

The past couple of weeks had been some of the hardest of Asami’s life, right up there next to her mother’s death. In many ways, the events were very similar. She felt like she had lost Korra, and in the process a part of herself. Even though Korra was right there in front of her every day, it was so… _awkward_. And painful. Korra was participating more in class now, but Asami could see how much Korra struggled to even glance at her. She wanted so badly to touch her, and hold her, and kiss her tears away. Asami hated that she was the reason Korra was so sad.

The current state of their relationship was entirely her fault, after all. It was one thing when she was drunk and not completely aware of her actions, but that kiss in the forest…she _knew_ how Korra felt. And Korra _knew_ that Asami was aware of Korra’s feelings _and_ her own actions. She could’ve pulled away, gently told Korra that this was inappropriate and couldn’t happen again. But no, she had kissed her back. And even worse, it had felt so _good_. Even when Korra had kissed her during their argument the other day, it had still felt so right, so natural. She longed to feel Korra’s lips against hers again.

_‘Maybe this is what I deserve…for feeling this way about Korra. Mako is what I need. The best that I’ll ever be able to do. This is what I deserve.”_

Asami briefly wondered if she would ever find someone again that cared about her the way Korra did. Probably not.

She’s tired, but she can’t sleep with Mako in her bed. She’s never been able to sleep really well with him around but now it’s like her body refuses to allow her to relax when in his presence. She quietly slips out of her bedroom and pads to her office, deciding to try and distract herself by grading some work that she had assigned over Thanksgiving break. It works for a bit, and she’s able to keep herself occupied for a good thirty minutes. However, the distraction ceases working the moment her eyes land on Korra’s homework. She takes a minute to look at the adorably messy handwriting, the little side notes Korra made as she tried to work through a problem, the drawing she made on the back after she most likely got distracted. Asami can vividly see Korra in her mind, her nose screwing up as she concentrated, her crooked, happy grin once she finally figured something out. Her father would rip her away from that face soon. She would be forced to leave Omashu Academy and would most likely never see that crooked grin or those bright blue eyes ever again.

Asami bursts into tears then, this time allowing herself to sob, knowing that Mako can’t hear her from here, locked away in the safety of her office room. She cries until she can’t breathe and she’s almost dizzy from her efforts. After what feels like ages, Asami slumps down onto her desk, her throat raw, her eyes red and puffy and her head pounding. She feels only slightly better. There’s no way she’s going to get any work done now, so she decides that she’ll try to get some sleep on her living room couch.

She tiptoes into the hallway and grabs a blanket from her guest room hallway, then makes her way downstairs and settles onto her couch. She sets an alarm on her phone to wake her up before Mako in the morning so that she can crawl back into bed with him. Sighing, she sinks into the pillows and snuggles into her blankets, finally drifting off into sleep, flashes of blue eyes and a silly, lopsided smile controlling her dreams.

* * *

Mako pulls up to the side gate near the year 11 housing block and sighs as he puts the car in park. Asami keeps her head on the window for a bit, her eyes closed. It’s been another long weekend of press runs and putting on a show for the tabloids, trying to convince people that she’s ecstatic about the wedding and can’t wait to start her life with Mako. She must be putting on a pretty good show; her father won’t stop calling her and telling her how proud of her she is, and how she’s going to make such an excellent wife. Suki hasn’t really talked to her since the night of the proposal, most likely pissed at Asami for saying yes and bending to dad’s will (per usual), and June knows that’s somethings off, but she hasn’t really pressed Asami about it. No, everyone seems to believe that she’s fine and she’s happy. And she should be, she _will_ be. She just has to…adjust. Soon, this sadness, this horrible emptiness will be over, and she’ll find happiness in her life with Mako. This is the best it’s going to get for her.

Asami lifts her head from the window and smiles at Mako softly. He leans forward to kiss her goodbye, tucking a strand of her hair behind her hair. The touch is gentle, loving even, and she should be melting into it, eager for any affection she receives from the person she’s going to be spending the rest of her life with, but she feels nothing. Absolutely _nothing_. If anything, she feels slightly annoyed, with that feeling being amplified by the next thing that comes out of Mako’s mouth.

“Won’t be needing to drop you off here anymore soon. After the wedding…” He trails off, but Asami knows where the rest of that sentence was going. He had essentially just confirmed her suspicions. She remains quiet, not having the energy to fight anymore. She steps out of the car and takes her luggage and purse from the trunk, her face emotionless as she watches Mako pull off down the lane. She sighs and turns around to make her way up the stairs of the housing complex. Her mind is so focused on getting to her room, taking a long hot shower and sleeping until dinner, that she doesn’t register the couple to the side of the stairs at first. She hears a giggle and turns her head toward the source of the noise without thinking, only to freeze in place once she processes what she sees.

Korra and Kuzon are standing off to the side, giggling about some joke he had just whispered into Korra’s ear. Korra makes a face and sticks her tongue out at him. Time moves in slow motion as Asami watches Kuzon reach up to tenderly cup Korra’s cheek. Her eyes flutter close as he leans down slightly to press a chaste kiss against her lips.

Asami inhales sharply and nearly chokes. It feels like she’s just swallowed pieces of glass and her heart is beating so quickly she swears it might explode. She watches helplessly as Korra opens her eyes again, and she could almost die at how…how…in _awe_ Korra looks right now. She’s smiling and her cheeks are red, and her eyes are shining and Asami should be happy. She _really_ should be happy because this is the first kiss experience that Korra deserved and if she’s with Kuzon, that means she’s moving on, right? _This_ is what Korra needs right now. But fuck, why does it hurt _this_ much? Asami can physically _feel_ how much this hurts, she’s never been through heartache like this before.

As if she can sense her pain, Korra’s eyes flit over towards Asami, but Asami whips her head away before they can make eye contact, stumbling up the stairs and fighting back tears.

_‘Just wait til you get to the room. Just hold on until you get to the room Asami, come on. You can do this.’_

Asami finally reaches her room and fumbles blindly around her purse for her key card. She unceremoniously dumps her luggage next to her bed, slumps in her chair, and allows herself to cry, _again_. It’s a weird, uncomfortable emotion; a new one that she’s never really felt before, well at least not directed towards herself. It’s a mixture of anger and grief, and it’s overwhelming her. She remembers feeling it at her mom’s funeral. She was sad, heartbroken. She had lost her best friend, her idol, the woman who made her feel whole, like she mattered, like Asami could do whatever she wanted to do with her life and still have her support. But she was also so…angry. Angry at her mother for letting her cancer progress and not letting them know until it was too late. Angry with her father for slipping away towards the end, when her mother needed him the most.

The same emotion is here, but it’s directed at herself now. She’s angry that she feels this way about Korra, that she’s engaged to Mako, that she allowed herself to be used and manipulated by her father.

 _‘But this is what you deserve, is it not? You could never do anything right, according to Hiroshi. This is the one thing you can do that’ll ensure he’ll be proud of you forever.’_ The voice inside her head told her.

Asami is pulled out of her thoughts by a tentative knock at her door. Before she can respond and try to compose herself, the door opens and Korra slides in, not bothering to wait for an invitation.

 _Shit._ She had forgot to lock her door in her rush to escape into her room. Korra closes the door behind her, making sure it’s locked before she turns around slowly and leans against it, staring at Asami.

“Korra. Hey, what can I do for you? I was just settling in.” Asami says, trying to discreetly wipe the tears from her eyes and make her voice as upbeat as possible. She knew it was a futile attempt to save face, but that didn’t stop her from trying.

Korra doesn’t say anything, doesn’t move; just stares at Asami, soaking in her disheveled appearance. Asami squirms under her intense gaze and eventually has to break eye contact because it’s too much for her.

Finally, _finally,_ Korra speaks up.

“You’re crying.” She says simply. Asami opens her mouth to lie and say no, she she’s not, but honestly, it’s useless. She simply nods her head and remains quiet.

“I wanted to apologize.” Korra says, her voice soft. “About…about all those things I said the other day. You’re _not_ weak…or pathetic. I was hurt. I still am, I guess, but that was wrong, and I didn’t mean any of it, Asami. You’re the strongest and most intelligent person I’ve ever met, and I’m really sorry for saying those things, and for cursing at you.” Korra takes a deep breath before she presses on.

“Asami…I know you’re leaving after you get married. Don’t try to tell me you’re not, cuz I know you are. I don’t…I don’t want you to leave with us on bad terms. I wanna start over, be friends again before you go. Can I be your friend again, Asami?” Asami looks up and sees that Korra is staring at her so earnestly, so hopeful. Asami’s voice is deep and scratchy from her crying, but she still manages to get a sentence out.

“Of course, we can be friends again, Korra.” She whispers. She watches in wonder as Korra’s face floods with relief. Korra rushes forward, but then pauses, unsure.

“Can I…can I hug you?” She asks a bit self-consciously. Asami breaks down at that. The thought of leaving and never seeing this adorably awkward, kind-hearted, beautiful human ever again devastated her. She feels hot tears running down her cheeks and covers her face with her hands, curling into a ball in her seat. Korra kneels down in front of her and delicately places both of her hands on Asami’s shoulders. Without thinking, Asami blindly reaches forward and wraps her arms around Korra’s neck, clinging on tightly. The momentum sends them both to the ground, but Korra catches them and gracefully settles to the floor on her knees before wrapping her arms around Asami’s waist and rocking her back and forth.

“You don’t have to leave, Asami.” Korra whispers into Asami’s hair, stroking it tenderly. Asami sobs and buries her face deeper into Korra’s collarbone.

“You don’t understand Korra, I _do_. I can’t…I can’t go against him, he’s…he’s all I have left.”

“That’s what he wants you to believe. You’re so strong, Asami. Stronger than you give yourself credit for. You don’t need to rely on anyone but yourself.”

Asami doesn’t reply, just allows Korra to rock her back and forth, rubbing soothing patterns into her lower back. The latter movement is starting to have an effect on Asami, and she wishes she could curse her body out. She’s reluctant to move away from Korra, but she has to, or else…She doesn’t know what will happen, but she doesn’t trust herself right now.

She smiles at Korra’s pout when she pulls away and reaches out to grab her hand, squeezing it.

“Thank you, Korra. For everything.”

Korra stares at their joined hands for a long moment before she looks back up at Asami, a heartbreaking, forlorn look in her eyes.

“Asami…please don’t be mad at me but can I kiss you again? Just…just one last time?” Korra pleaded.

Asami inhales sharply, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. No. Immediately no, of course not. That’s actually probably the worst thing she could do right now. Her and Korra had just re-established their boundaries and vowed to try to get back to being friends again. Kissing her would only hurt her more, would lead her on. Asami wasn’t in the right head space to just kiss Korra and not have it lead to more.

So why, why, _why_ were her hands trailing softly up Korra’s arms and to her face, cupping her hands on either side of Korra’s cheeks?

Why was she pulling Korra towards her, her heart skipping a beat as Korra’s eyes fluttered close, her mouth slightly open in expectation?

Their lips finally meet and Asami nearly sighs at the contact. Korra is so soft and incredibly warm, and she tastes slightly like cinnamon. She allows herself to drown in the kiss for as long as her body could stand to without doing anything more, before she unwillingly pulls away. Korra exhales and slowly opens her eyes, and Asami can’t help but notice how _vibrant_ they are. 

“So _that’s_ what it’s supposed to feel like.” She says dreamily. Asami giggles and shakes her head. This girl was going to be the death of her.

Korra grins at her once more, before awkwardly making her way to her feet and sticking her hand out to help Asami get up too. After Asami stands up and dusts herself off, Korra makes her way to the bedroom door and opens it to leave. Before she leaves however, she looks back at Asami.

“Don’t let them win, Asami. Don’t let anyone have that much control over you. Ever.” She says, and then shuts the door noiselessly behind her.

Asami stares at the door for a moment, her brain still replaying what had just happened. Korra was right of course. She shouldn’t allow anyone to have control over her. It’s something her mother would have said. There was only one thing she had to do to get her life back, her power back. And she realized, much to her disbelief, how much she wanted to do it. So, she was going to.

Relief flooded through her body once she came to the conclusion, relaxing her shoulders and unclenching her jaws. Asami hadn’t even realized how wounded up she had been, had probably been ever since her mother had passed away.

She took five minutes to compose herself, stretching her arms out and focusing on her breathing. Once she felt ready, she dialed Mako’s number and waited patiently as the phone rang. He answered after the third ring.

“Hey Asami. What’s up? You leave something in the car?”

She tensed up again upon hearing his voice and seriously reconsidered her decision, but she couldn’t back out now. She _refused_ to back out now.

“Meet me at Omashu Park in 20 minutes.” Asami demanded, trying to put as much authority in her voice as possible.

“Huh? Omashu Park? Asami, I don’t have time for this, I have to be at the station fo-”

“Omashu Park. 20 minutes. Goodbye Mako.” Asami hangs up the phone before he can reply and can almost cry at how good it felt to be in charge of a conversation, of their interaction. Almost giddily, she runs to the bathroom to clean her face off and put her hair into a bun. The hardest part has yet to come, but Asami feels so much better with her newfound strength. After she’s ready, she quickly calls a cab and directs the driver to take her to Omashu park, her heart pounding in anticipation.

* * *

She’s at the park, sitting on a wooden bench shaded by a massive willow tree. anxiously awaiting Mako’s arrival.

_‘What if he doesn’t show up? What if he brings daddy with him? What if he gets really mad and-’_

Asami stops mid thought when she sees Mako walking towards her from the parking lot. He looks slightly annoyed and Asami’s determination falters a bit, but she hardens her face. She has to do this. If not for herself, at least for the memory of her mother.

Mako gets to the bench and stands over her, silently looking down. Asami looks up, squarely meets his gaze and nudges her chin up, gesturing for him to take a seat. He sighs and does so, leaning back against the bench, waiting for her to talk.

In all honesty, Asami never imagined getting this far. She didn’t plan a speech or anything. For the past hour or so, her mind had been moving 200 miles per hour in multiple different directions; she didn’t really have the mental capacity to plan out this moment. Now that she really thought about it, this was her first time actually breaking up with someone; she’s used to being the one who gets dumped.

No matter how hard she tries, the “right” words refuse to come to her, so she decides to start with actions. She can see Mako starting to get irritated at her silence, so she simply slips the ring off of her finger and holds it out to him. Her next words come out almost without her even thinking about them.

“Give this back to my father.” Asami demands. “And tell him I’m done.”

Mako raises his eyebrows in surprise and looks back and forth between Asami and the ring, hesitating. Asami reaches out and grabs his hand, firmly placing the ring in his palms and closing his hand over it.

“Tell him, Mako. Tell him it’s over.” She repeats, her tone slightly firmer than before.

Mako sighs, but nods his head, putting the ring in his pocket.

“He won’t be happy, you know. With neither of us.” He says as he looks out at the sun setting beyond the park playground.

Asami shrugs, her eyes also trained on the view ahead of them. “I don’t care. At least…at least right now I don’t care. He’s already done his worst. I can’t imagine it getting worse than this.” She’s surprised to find that she’s telling the truth. For the first time in her life, she’s not afraid of her father.

Mako nods and swallows thickly. “I knew this was coming. I just…I didn’t know when. I guess I’m glad it was before the wedding.” He chuckles dryly and Asami smiles.

“Your dad can be very…demanding. And he had helped me out so much…back when we were still just friends in college. I don’t know why I let him…I could’ve said no, I guess I just felt…obligated.” Mako cringes and holds his head down in shame.

“Trust me Mako, I know. I _kinda_ grew up with him.” Asami says ironically. He looks up at her and grins, playfully pushing his shoulder against hers.

“You know I did love you at the beginning. I mean, I still do now, just differently. We were friends before all this… _mess._ And I’m sorry for being a shit boyfriend, Asami. I really am.” Mako turns towards her and reaches out to put his hand on her knee.

She places her hand over his and squeezes gently.

“I love you too, Mako. And I forgive you. I wasn’t exactly the best girlfriend either so…I’d say we’re even.”

They both laugh at that and then settle down to watch the sun set for a little while, sitting in comfortable silence. A breeze blows through and Asami leans back against the bench, allowing the wind to tickle her neck and the tiny amount of heat from what’s left of the sun to warm her face. She feels Mako stir and pops one eye open to see him smirking at her.

“I actually do have to be back at the station, so I’m gonna head out. I’ll report the cancellation,” he gestures to his pocket and then grins at her mischievously, “to headquarters tomorrow. Be on the lookout for a strongly worded email or an extremely loud phone call.”

Asami chuckles but nods her head, standing up to hug Mako goodbye.

“You take care of yourself Asami. We might not be engaged anymore, but I still consider you a friend. I’m only a phone call away, understand?” Mako pulls out of the hug and looks down at her, wanting a confirmation that she heard him.

Asami pulls back and salutes him. “Sir, yes, sir.”

“Fuck you.” Mako says, and they both laugh. He shakes his head and then turns to walk towards his truck, waving one last goodbye at her before he hops in and speeds down the road.

Asami plops back down on the bench, taking a minute to center herself. She couldn’t believe this. She had done it. She had _actually_ done it. Hiroshi would be beyond pissed, would probably cut her off financially, pull out of donating to the school, threaten to kick her out of her house, but she didn’t care. She was _free_. She had never felt so _light_ , so _weightless_ before. She watched with a gentle smile on her face as the sun slowly sunk into the ground and the nighttime sprung to life around her.

 _‘Well…here’s to new beginnings. This is for you mom’_ She thought happily. Bright blue eyes and a crooked grin suddenly flashed through her mind, along with the feel of soft, supple lips against her own, the sound of a hearty laugh tickling her eardrums. Asami’s smile grew wider and she let out a soft sigh.

_‘And thank you, Korra.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asami said “TO FREEDOM!!” Lmaoooo ;)  
> ALSO, I made a one-shot about my babies that deals with Korra accepting her sexuality!! You can read it here!! [ HigherThanTheStars!!< /a > ](https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/27365746)
> 
> I hope you guys are staying safe!!! This election was stressing me the hell out, plus on top of work and school... Ugh I've just been going through it. But we did it! We got cheeto man child out the office, I'm honestly so frickin proud of us and the work we've accomplished. We still have a ways to go, but my God, this is such a step in the right direction! Love you guys!!


	14. Prom Dress-Mxmtoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra goes to the Winter Formal with Kuzon, but it’s not what she thought it would be like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Makeup is running down, feelings are all around~

~Korra~

_“It’ll be good for you, Korra. Give you a chance to create new experiences. I say you go for it.”_

That’s what Mary had suggested when Korra brought up that Kuzon had asked her to the winter formal during their session last week ( _how_ that even popped into the conversation, Korra still wasn’t sure). So, here she was on a Friday evening, allowing Kya to fuss over her hair and makeup in the bathroom, trying her hardest to be excited. Everyone else seemed to be excited for her.

“Your first date! Oh, my fuckin’ God!” Kya had squealed when Korra first told her and the others that she finally set up a date with Kuzon. Korra smiled and answered all the girls’ questions afterwards about how it was, and what they did, and if they would hang out again. When Korra told them that he asked her to winter formal, they had been so ecstatic, Korra felt like she should be too, but she just… _wasn’t_. It bothered her that she wasn’t; that she spent the entire date comparing Kuzon to Asami, wishing it was Asami holding her hand, laughing at Korra’s jokes, resting her hand on Korra’s thigh as they drove down the highway.

She thought she would feel something when he kissed her, wanted _so badly_ to feel something, but she didn’t. It was nowhere near what she felt when she kissed Asami just a couple minutes later. Even with her tear-streaked face, snotty nose, and puffy eyes, red from crying, Asami was still the most beautiful woman Korra had ever met and kissing her was the best feeling Korra had ever experienced. She longed to do it again, would give anything to kiss Asami again. Her chest and throat tighten familiarly, and she coughs to try to get rid of the sensation.

She couldn’t think about Asami right now. They would never happen, and she had to accept that. She had to accept that, she had to accept that, she _had_ to accept that.

Korra keeps her eyes trained on the mirror in front of her, trying to drown in her reflection and clear her mind, focusing on small details of her face. She traces the curve of her lips with her eyes, noting the small dip in the middle, the spattering of faint freckles across her nose due to sun exposure. Her eyes linger on her nose for a while, trying to figure out its shape. She’s never really cared much about her physical appearance before, never really sat down in front of a mirror and studied herself. She wrinkles her nose and then frowns, feeling like it’s too big, too wide. Now that she thinks about it, her lips are too. Is this how she looked to people? Maybe that’s why Asami doesn’t want her. Maybe she’s not pretty enough.

“Kya, am I pretty?” Korra asks suddenly, a little worried.

“Are you kidding? After I’m done with you, everyone in the city of Omashu is gonna want you in their bedroom.” Kya smirks at her, adding yet another tiny, sparkly stud to Korra’s eyelid.

Korra feels her heart crash down into her stomach. So, that was it then. That’s why Asami didn’t want her.

“So, I’m not? I’m not pretty unless I’m wearing makeup.” Korra feels tears forming in her eyes and reaches up to try and wipe them, but Kya swats her hand away and hops on the bathroom sink, turning Korra around to face her.

“Hey, hey, stop that. No of course you’re pretty Korra. I call you hot at least once a day.” Kya frowns and takes a tissue from the bathroom sink, dabbing Korra’s tears away without messing up her makeup. “Is something wrong? Did somebody say something to you?”

Korra sniffles and shakes her head no.

“I don’t know. I just…I just had a thought. It’s nothing.”

Kya is silent for a moment before she bites her bottom lip and then nods.

“You know you can tell me anything Korra” Kya says, as she hops off the sink. “I won’t judge you or make fun of you. I’ve been told I’m a good listener. And I can keep secrets.” She grins mischievously as she resumes intricately placing studs on Korra’s eyelids. Korra smiles softly and closes her eyes, allowing her to finish.

She’s debated telling Kya about Asami multiple times, but always decided against it. It’s partly because she didn’t want Asami to get in trouble for kissing her (in the very slim chance that Kya would tattle or slip up), partly because she doesn’t want Asami to be mad at her for telling her business, but mostly because she’s embarrassed.

Having never experienced liking anyone, she’s never experienced rejection either, and even though her and Asami are in a weird situation, she can’t help but feel that it’s something about her specifically that makes Asami not want to at least _try_. Maybe if she was prettier, or sexier, or more sophisticated, or more intelligent. Korra cringes when she thinks about how dumb she must’ve looked when she first started biology. Asami had graduated from _Harvard;_ Korra would never be able to get into a school like that. No, she couldn’t tell Kya this; she couldn’t tell _anybody_ about this. She would have to go through this alone.

“I’m fine, Kya. Honestly. I think I’m about to start my period or something.” Korra gives a half-hearted shrug. Kya glares at her for a moment but then softens her gaze and sighs, going back to Korra’s makeup.

“I know you’re not telling me the truth. And you’ve been acting really weird these past couple of weeks…but I won’t push you. Just know that I’m here dumbass. Don’t let it build up and then explode, ‘kay?”

Korra nods and grins, grateful that Kya is allowing her to drop the conversation. She’s so incredibly lucky to have her as a best friend. If nothing else goes right, at least she knows that Kya will be there for her, no matter what.

Thirty minutes later, Korra is standing in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom, gazing at herself uncertainly as Kya smooths out the crinkles in Korra’s white dress and then bends down to adjust the straps of her heels. Once she’s done, she takes a step back to admire her work, beaming proudly.

“Okay now do a spin for me.”

Korra spun around fast enough for the dress to puff out around her and smiled in spite of herself when she heard Kya squeal in delight. Once she finished spinning, she faced the mirror to look over herself again. Kya had done her makeup really pretty, painting her eyelids light blue and drawing little snowflakes with sparkly studs on them. Her hair cascaded down around her shoulders, straightened and then curled a bit, with strands of silver strings twisted throughout it and a tiara in the shape of tiny snowflakes resting delicately on top of her head.

“You look beautiful Korra. Even without all this. Don’t let _anyone_ make you feel otherwise.” Kya said sincerely.

Korra nodded and turned around to squeeze into a hug. “You sure you don’t want to come tonight? You can still get dressed really quick and meet us a little later.” Korra pouted.

Kya laughed and pulled away. “Nah, I’m good. I’m doing something tonight already.”

“Doing something or some _one_?” Korra smirks.

“Oooo you little minx, wouldn’t you love to know?” Kya grins and then smacks Korra on her ass, causing her to yelp. “Hurry up and go downstairs. Jinora, Opal, Jessica, and Tuyen are waiting for you.”

“Right.” Korra agrees, hopping to her dresser to spritz on a little more perfume and then making her way to exit the room.

“Have fun tonight babe. And tell me about it after. I wanna know how far you get with Kuzon.” Kya winks suggestively and Korra turns back to glare at her before shutting the door.

She carefully makes her way down the staircase and meets up with the other girls in the hallway in front of the living area. When they see Korra, they all let out a collective gasp and then immediately start squealing in excitedness, compliments rushing out all at once. They spend a few minutes fawning over Korra’s hair, makeup, and outfit, (which admittedly makes Korra feel slightly better, though she hates that she needed outside validation to lift her spirits up) they head out of the building to meet the boys in the courtyard.

The fresh, cold air revives Korra a bit and helps to clear her mind. Her skin breaks out into goosebumps and she finds that she’s actually starting to feel a little eager, and excited. Maybe she could have fun tonight, with Kuzon. He seemed to like her, at least enough to be able to look past her awkwardly shaped nose and unruly hair. He had kissed her, and called her pretty, and was funny and cool to hangout with. If Asami didn’t want her, at least she could take comfort in the fact that Kuzon did. She pushed away the nagging voice in her head telling her it was wrong to use someone this way; to attempt to make herself feel better at someone else’s expense.

 _‘It’s not like he knows, so it won’t hurt him. I have to do this, anything to get over her. I have to.’_ She turns her attention back to her friends and easily slips back into the conversation.

“…still can’t believe you actually asked Bolin to the dance, Op. I didn’t know you had it in you.” Jessica elbows Opal playfully and the rest of the girls’ giggle.

Opal giggles, smiling shyly. “I don’t know. I guess it was easy once Jinora told me that Kai told her he likes me. I was just waiting for him to make a move but suddenly I just thought ‘fuck it’ and asked him myself.” Opal turns to Korra and grins, wrapping her arm around Korra’s shoulder and pulling her into a side hug. Korra yelps, her hand shooting up to make sure her tiara didn’t tilt.

“And _you_ , misses ‘hard to get’. Bolin told me how excited Kuzon has been all week. Says you _finally_ gave him a chance.”

Korra laughs, a blush starting to heat her face up. She wiggles out of Opal’s embrace and nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders.

“I wasn’t _trying_ to avoid him, I was just…nervous. I’ve never really talked to a boy before, at least not like this.”

“Mmmhhmmm, trust Korra, we know.” Tuyen smirks and Korra squirms, knowing exactly where this conversation is headed.

“Guys, please don’t.” Korra begs, but it’s too late.

“So how much _talking_ have you guys been doing?” Jessica asks mischievously.

Korra rolls her eyes. “We’ve been out twice since Sunday.”

“Has he kissed you?” Jinora asks.

“Yes.” They coo excitedly and poke her in her stomach.

“Where?”

“What do you mean where?!”

“You know what we mean!”

“Oh God, you guys are gross! My mouth! We’ve only been seeing each other for less than a week.”

“Did he use his tongue!?”

“What? No, of course not!”

“You do know what tongue kissing is, right Korra?”

Korra was sure if it wasn’t so cold outside, she would be breaking out in a nervous sweat. Why were they asking her so many questions?

“Yes, I know what tongue kissing is.” Korra glares at them.

“Would you tongue kiss him?”

“I don’t…I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.” Korra’s mind takes her back to the forest behind her house. To Asami whimpering against her mouth, her thigh brushing against Korra’s, her thumbs brushing firm circles into Korra’s upper arms, her tongue tentatively swiping across her bottom lip. She shivers as she realizes that she would have gone as far as Asami would have allowed her to if she hadn’t run away. Was she really not ready or did she just not want Kuzon? It annoys her that her mind won’t allow her to just let Asami _go_.

Irritated, Korra turns to Opal. “Why are you guys asking me all these questions? Opal’s been seeing Bolin _way_ longer, and I swear I saw her covering a hickey on her neck two days ago.”

Opal goes rigid and Korra grins at her victory, her body relaxing in relief once the girls take their attention off of her and begin bombarding Opal with questions. They’re nearly at the courtyard when out of the corner of her eye, she sees Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee make their way out of the year 12 housing unit. Korra makes eye contact with Azula for a brief second. She debates smiling and offering a compliment. Azula has her hair swept up in a majestic looking bun with some tendrils hanging loose, and gold earrings hanging from her ear. Her lips are painted a deep red, making her facial features pop and her black eye liner brings out the shape of her eyes. She looks beautiful, and although Korra knows that (for whatever reason) Azula doesn’t like her, the feeling isn’t reciprocated. Mary _has_ been encouraging Korra to be more honest with her feelings towards people, and she really didn’t want to be enemies with anyone, especially when there was no reason for them to be.

Korra makes up her mind once her group is near enough for Azula to be able to hear her.

“You look really pretty Azula. I like your hair.” Korra compliments, a gentle smile on her face. Azula looks momentarily stunned, her eyes flitting down Korra’s figure before making their way back to her face. A dark look fleetingly washes over Azula’s face. It’s unreadable, but Korra can feel its intensity during the brief time that it’s there. She can’t put her finger on it, but it’s a familiar expression, one that makes the tiny hairs on her arms stand up.

Before Korra can contemplate on the look any longer, Azula blinks as if she’s snapping out of a haze, and then fixes her face into its usual haughty, contempt fashion.

“Thanks, I know. Maybe you could too, if you tried harder.” She huffs and then pushes past them. Mai, who has a bland, almost bored expression on her face, goes to follow her. Ty Lee looks at Korra, almost apologetically, before she also scurries to catch up to her group.

Korra sighs, turning back to the others and shrugging her shoulders.

“You can’t be friends with everybody.” Korra says, a bit sadly.

“Honestly, why is she such a bitch? For literally no reason.” Jinora grumbles.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her for what she did to Kya and Lin. That was _horrible._ Not like she’s asking for forgiveness anyways, but still, I wouldn’t give it to her.” Jessica pouts.

Korra’s ears perk up, eager to learn more about this mysterious Lin person who seemed to have such a big impact on Kya’s life.

“So, uh…what exactly happened there…with Kya and Azula and Lin.” Korra asks.

The girls exchange looks and then seemingly come to a silent decision.

“Sorry Korra, but if Kya hasn’t told you yet…we don’t want to tell her business. Just know that it was bad.” Opal says, regretfully.

“Really, _really_ bad. Like, ‘she almost dropped out of the school and Lin had to leave’ bad.” Jinora chimes in.

Korra sucks in a breath but nods her head, trying to be understanding. There had to be a reason Kya wouldn’t open up to her about this, but that only made Korra feel worse. Why didn’t Kya trust her with this? Weren’t they best friends?

The topic of conversation changes once more, the excitement building the closer they got to the courtyard. Korra spotted Kai, Kuzon, and Bolin at the same time that they spotted the girls. They eagerly closed the distance between each other, smiling and laughing as they said hello. Kuzon’s eyes widened when he saw Korra, and he grinned shyly. He held out a corsage with a white rose attached to it and slipped it onto Korra’s wrist, swooping down to plant a sweet kiss against her lips.

“Hi Korra. You look beautiful tonight. Like an angel.” He whispered against her mouth.

Korra reddens and gives him another quick kiss, trying to block out the chorus of “ooooo’s” and kissy noises behind her.

“Thank you Kuzon. You look handsome. I like you in this suit.” She whispers huskily, running her finger along his bow tie and smiling up at him. She hadn’t meant for it to come out like that (her throat was tight from her being nervous), but she liked the effect it seemed to have on him anyways. He shivered and Korra watched as his eyes darkened slightly and his breath hitched in his throat. She liked having this much power over someone’s reactions.

Kuzon clears his throat and smiles back, reaching to take Korra’s hand and squeeze it gently.

“Shall we head off then, my sweet, fair maiden?” Kuzon said, making a dramatic gesture with his free hand.

Korra giggled and curtsied slightly, matching his theatrics. “We shall, my handsome knight.”

They headed off to the dining hall, where the Winter Formal was being held, talking and laughing animatedly together. Once they walked through the big double doors leading them to the hall however, Korra stop talking immediately and gasped as she took in her surroundings.

The dining hall had been completely transformed to resemble a sort of snowy wonderland. All the tables had been pushed to the side to make the middle of the hall into a ballroom floor. Fake snow covered the floor and papier-mâché snowflakes hung down from the ceilings and draped across the walls. ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham filtered out of hidden speakers and into Korra’s ears, making her giddy with joy and anticipation. Christmas had always been Korra’s favorite season, before her mom had passed away. The season had always made her hopeful and although last Christmas had been rough for her, maybe this one would be better. She hadn’t thought that she would make it out alive last year, and yet here she was. Still whole, still breathing. Still here. She looked over at Kuzon and smiled when she found that he was already looking at her. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the room.

_‘Okay…I can do this. I’m going to get through this. Everything will be just-’_

And then, she saw her.

She’s wearing Sofia-heeled cream-colored shoes and a beautiful white dress that stopped just beneath her knees. It billowed and rippled out around her as she floated around the room, laughing with her fellow teachers. The sleeves are long and puffy, cuffing at her wrists. Her hair is pulled away from her face in an elegant updo, a few purposely placed curls framing her face, softening it. She’s so beautiful; literally, if beauty had to be personified, it would be her.

Asami looks up from her conversation with Professor Blackstone and looks over at Korra, as if she felt her presence when Korra entered the room. They make eye contact and Korra swears that for a brief moment, she’s sucked into a different dimension. One where she could see Asami across a room and smile easily, genuinely, knowing that she could stride over to her and wrap her up in her arms and kiss her openly, without fear, or shame. 

Asami smiles at her and Korra does her best to smile back, but she just _can’t_. It comes across more like a grimace. Whatever expression she had on her face is wiped off completely when she sees Mako sidle up next to Asami, wrapping his arm around her and whispering something into her ear.

Korra rips her gaze away from the happy couple, holding back angry tears and allowing Kuzon to lead her towards the punch bowl. Seeing Asami was still too hard. This was still hard. It was like no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop thinking about her. Going to class was basically torture. Sure, she was able to participate a little more as the week went by, but it hurt _so much_ to even hear Asami talk. Some days she would wake up and feel fine, content even. She would go about her day, laughing with her friends, focusing in her classes, and then get to Biology and see Asami and it would hit her like a ton of bricks. She was really going to do it. She was going to marry him and leave here, leave Korra.

_‘She probably never even liked me in the first place. I was probably just some pathetic, pitiful whimpering mess to her, and she told me she like me cuz she felt bad.’_ Korra thought bitterly.

Korra tries her hardest to focus on Kuzon the entire night. She allows him to parade her around the hall, showing her off and mingling with the other students. She makes a bumbling fool out of herself, tripping over his feet and clinging to his shoulders to keep from falling over in her heels. He laughs off her clumsiness, holding her steady in a strong yet gentle grip, giving her sweet but chaste kisses every now and then, looking at her as if she’s the most precious thing in the world. She should be swooning. She should feel ecstatic that a boy likes her and he’s nice and handsome and so well-mannered. But she feels nothing. _Nothing_.

Multiple times throughout the night, Korra finds her eyes wandering the room in search of Asami. Her heart breaks each and every time she finds her, making her feel raw and sore, as if she keeps accidentally rubbing up against a wound and reopening it. Almost every single time Korra finds her, Asami is staring right back, her mouth slightly ajar as if she wants to come over and say something, but eventually she grimaces and looks away guiltily.

Initially, Korra is thrilled at the thought of Asami looking around for her the same way that she’s looking for Asami. That thrill soon turns into sadness and then anger, amplified every time Korra sees Asami next to Mako, sees his arm wrapped around her waist, sees him leaning down to whisper something into her ear, causing her to throw her head back in laughter. She looks happier tonight too, lighter. Not at all the broken, confused woman Korra had consoled the other day. Maybe he really did love her, and she loved him. Maybe kissing Korra really was a mistake for her. Suddenly, Korra saw red. If Asami could move on that fast, that easily, then Korra could too.

Spurred on by her anger, Korra got up abruptly from her seat on the side of the room and strode over to Kuzon, determined. He turned around in surprise when she approached him, grabbing onto his arm roughly.

“Korra? Hey, what’s u- mmpphh”

Korra cuts him off mid-sentence, pulling him into a sweltering kiss, only pulling away when she feels like she might pass out from lack of oxygen. His face is slightly red, and his eyes are dark, intense. He stares down at Korra in shock, his chest rising up and down slightly faster than before. Before he can say anything, Korra grabs his hand and starts to lead him towards the exit, blushing slightly at all the wolf whistles and cheers. On her way out of the room, she looks up once more and catches Asami’s eye. Korra finds that she’s satisfied with the hint of anger she sees flash through Asami’s eyes, the grimace on her face, disbelief twisting up her features. Korra manages to give her a small smirk before she’s out of the room, reveling in her power to make Asami mad.

Once the door shuts behind them however, Korra doesn’t exactly know what her next steps are. What was she going to do now? She had gotten the reaction she hoped for out of Asami, but now she had a teenage boy behind her that she accidentally dragged into this mess. Did she… _want_ to do something with Kuzon? She turns around to stare at him and finds that he’s looking at her wide-eyed, his breathing shallow.

“Korra… _please_.” He whispers, his eyes begging for her to do _anything._

She grits her teeth, determination renewed, and hastily leads him to the music, film, and arts block. She climbs in through an open window at the back of the building and motions for Kuzon to follow her. Once inside, she guides him to the music room and shuts the door behind her, taking a deep breath and spinning around to face him, pushing him down into the piano chair and straddling him. She kisses him, softly at first, finding that he’s allowing her to take the lead. She wraps one hand around his neck and clutches his shoulder with the other, digging her fingernails in. He places his hands on her waist, squeezing gently and Korra gasps into his mouth, her mind shooting back to Thanksgiving night. Asami straddling her, grinding down into her, putting Korra’s hands on her waist, how smooth and pale her neck looked when she threw her head back and moaned Korra’s name…

Korra huffed in frustration and shoved her tongue clumsily into Kuzon’s mouth, willing her brain to forget, forget, _forget._ Kuzon groans and eagerly strokes his tongue against hers, which encourages Korra to grab his hand and place it on top of her breast, directing him to squeeze.

“Korra.” He whimpers, and Korra feels a rush of heat flow through her. She unconsciously begins grinding down into his lap and gasps in surprise when she realizes she can feel his hardness poking through his suit.

Korra pulls back slightly to look down into Kuzon’s face, her hips still moving as if they had a mind of their own. His eyes are screwed shut, his mouth slightly open, wet and swollen from them kissing, letting out small whimpers as he gently lifts his hips up to meet her thrusts. Korra is in awe that she could ever have this much power over somebody, but that awe is quickly replaced by a stab of painful longing. She wants Asami. She so desperately wants this to be Asami underneath her. Korra nearly lets out a sob, but she swallows it back just in time, leaning forward again to try and forget, try to let go.

“ _KORRA!_ ”

Korra freezes at the sound of someone suddenly calling her name. She slowly looks up and over Kuzon to see Asami standing in the music room doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at them. Embarrassed, Korra scrambles off of Kuzon, straightening out her dress and fixing her hair, looking everywhere but at Asami. Kuzon gets up immediately after her, adjusting his bowtie and trying his hardest to hide the big bulge that was indented in his pants.

There’s a moment of extremely awkward silence before Asami finally clears her throat and speaks up.

“Students aren’t allowed to leave the dance unattended. You guys can get yourselves together and go back to the dance or…or go…somewhere else. But you can’t be on school property unsupervised.” Asami says stiffly, avoiding eye contact with both of them.

Kuzon nodded, his face still red from embarrassment. “Of course, Miss Sato. We’re really, really sorry. We’re just gonna head back to the dance.” He turned to look at Korra and reached for her hand, smiling softly. Before Korra could reach back out to him, Asami spoke up again.

“Actually Kuzon, do you mind if I speak with Korra for a minute? _Alone._ ” Korra notices that her voice is a little raspier than usual, as if she’s holding back her emotions. Kuzon nodded and swooped down to press a kiss to Korra’s cheek.

“I’ll see you later.” He whispered into her ear, and then made his way out the room, nodding once more at Asami before closing the door behind him. Korra kept her gaze trained on the ground in front of her, faintly hearing Asami lock the music room door and take a deep breath.

“Korra…honey, what are you doing?” Asami asks, disappointment clear in her voice.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Korra snaps, her embarrassment at getting caught abruptly being replaced by the red-hot anger she had felt earlier.

“It looks like you were about to make a stupid decision.” Asami snapped back at her. Korra rolled her eyes and attempted to move around Asami and leave the room but Asami grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. Korra tried to ignore the jolt of electricity that shot through her from Asami’s touch and ripped her arm away, shooting dagger at her.

“Don’t _touch_ me.”

“Korra why are you acting like this?” Asami said angrily.

“Why do you care what I do?” 

“Because you’re my student Korra. And…and I thought we were gonna try to be friends again. I thought we were past this. I don’t understand why you’re still mad at me.” Asami lamented, her voice heavy with hurt, tears threatening to fall out of her eyes.

Korra sighed and hung her head, all her anger disappearing at Asami’s tone. Why was this so hard? Why did her first time liking someone have to be so damn _complicated_?

“I’m not mad at _you_ , Asami. I’m just… I can’t do this. I can’t just be friends with you, it hurts too much.” Korra whispered, keeping her eyes on the ground in front of her.

“Korra…Korra don’t say that. We can still try. _Please_. I don’t…I can’t lose y-… _please._ ” Asami begged.

Korra shook her head. “You looked really happy tonight.” She looked up and gave Asami a small smile. “This is probably what’s best, right? You’ll get married and leave here soon anyways, I should get used to you not…I don’t know. I just…” Korra sighs and shakes her head again. “I’m just tired. I think I’m gonna go back to my room.” She reaches for the door again, this time unlocking it since Asami didn’t try and stop her.

“Korra it’s not what you thi-…Korra, I’m sorry. I’m so, _so_ sorry.” Asami whispers, and Korra reaches out to wipe away the tears that are now falling down Asami’s face.

“I’m sorry too, Asami.” She sighs, and then leaves her in the music room, heading back to the year 11 housing block, deciding to ditch the rest of the dance.

Korra blindly goes through the motions of removing her makeup, taking off her clothes and throwing her pajamas on, delicately placing the crown on Kya’s desk. She climbs into her bed and buries herself under the covers, feeling exhaustion kicking in. Way too numb to cry, Korra simply stares at the wall in front of her until her eyelids get heavy and she drifts off to sleep.

She wakes up a little while later when she feels a weight pressing down on her bed. She hates it, she absolutely hates it, but the first thought that comes to her sleep-riddled mind is Asami. That Asami came to her, to comfort her and kiss her, and tell her that she’s willing to give them a chance. She tries to keep her face from falling in disappointment when she looks up and sees Kya leaning over.

“Expecting someone else?” Kya smirks, but then frowns when Korra opts to turn her face back towards the wall instead of responding. They sit in silence for a moment, with Korra lying on her side and Kya sitting next to her, rubbing small circles into her back. Finally, Kya sighs.

“You know… _shit_ , alright well…here goes nothin’.” Kya shakes her head before she continues. “I was really… _really_ heartbroken when Lin’s parents found out about us and removed her from the school.” Korra turns towards her at that, her full attention now focused on Kya.

“I loved her so much, Korra. I was _in_ love with her. And then she was just…ripped away from me. I didn’t eat for days at a time. I didn’t talk to anyone. I started failing my classes. I just stayed holed up in my room, crying.”

Korra sits up slowly, letting the blankets fall around her. She brings her knees up to her chest, hugging them, and smiles weakly at Kya.

“I thought you said you were 100% straight. You liar.” Korra says wryly. Kya snorts and playfully pushes her leg.

“Oh, fuck you! But seriously Korra, my friends literally saved my life when the whole Lin thing happened. It’s very likely that I wouldn’t have made it if they weren’t there. I don’t know what you’re going through Korra, but I wanna help you. _Please_ tell me what’s wrong. I wanna be there for you. Is it boy problems? Do I need to beat Kuzon’s ass?” Kya glared.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Lin before? Why now?” Korra questioned, completely ignoring the last part of Kya’s statement.

Kya shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t think you were homophobic or anything I just didn’t wanna make you uncomfortable. Straight people don’t like hearing about gay things sometimes, at least that’s what I’ve noticed.”

Korra snorts, “Yea, I definitely don’t think I’m straight.”

Kya’s eyes widen before she eagerly grabs Korra’s hands and squeals.

“Oh _shit_ , so it’s _girl_ problems then!?”

Korra smiles, in spite of herself, and nods her head.

“Korra, tell me everything. _Now_.”

“Kya, I can’t. It’s complicated.” She wants to. God, does she want to, but she really shouldn’t.

“Korra, _please_. I won’t judge you. I _promise._ Korra, it’s me. You’re my best friend.” Kya pouts.

The more she thinks about it, the more she really wants to just tell Kya. It’s been so hard, going through this by herself, not having anyone to confide in. She’s clearly horrible at making decisions by herself when it came to relationships. And it would probably be such a relief, to just get this weight off her shoulders.

Sighing in resignation, Korra looks Kya directly in her eyes.

“Her name is Asami.” She whispers.

“Does she go here?”

Korra nods her head yes.

Kya frowns in confusion. “Huh. I don’t know any Asami’s. What grade is she in? Oh God, Korra, don’t tell me it’s a year 8 girl.”

Welp…here it goes.

“It’s…it’s Miss Sato.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I was Asami, I woulda just told Korra then and there that I broke up with Mako and wanna try to be with her, but I'm not sooooo.... :( :(


	15. Bad Liar-Selena Gomez

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami tries to distract herself from her feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~With my feelings on fire, guess I'm a bad liar~

~Asami~

Asami shivered as she delicately placed a stilettoed foot onto the pavement, followed quickly by the other. She mentally scolded herself for taking June’s advice and deciding not to bring a jacket to the club with her.

_“It’ll ruin your outfit.” June had pointed out, “Plus we’re gonna be all warm and sweaty once we hit the dance floor. Trust me, you won’t need it.”_

She looked over as June hopped out of the car and excitedly bounced over to her, swooping Asami up in one arm and dragging Iroh out of the front seat with the other. June started pulling them towards the entrance of the club but Asami stopped them and gestured towards the car, implying that they had to wait for Mako, who was still fumbling with his car keys and wallet.

“Hurry up Grandpa!” June yelled at Mako. He lazily threw her the middle finger, not taking his eyes off of the task at hand. June groaned and turned to Asami.

“Why the hell did you invite him? I said Iroh. I didn’t say Iroh plus one. I said _only_ invite Iroh.”

Asami laughed and squeezed June’s arm a little tighter with her own. “I invited him because he’s my friend, June. And he’s the designated driver, since you wanted to get drunk with me and Iroh _sooo_ bad.” She rolled her eyes, releasing herself from June’s grip.

June pouted. “Ugh _fine._ As long as he doesn’t get in my way.” She shot one more glare at Mako, who was now walking up to join the group, before she swiveled and began marching towards the club entrance, dragging a chuckling Iroh behind her.

Mako sighed as Asami looped her arm through his.

“She’s never liked me. Even in college, before the ‘arranged marriage’ thing, she’s never liked me.”

Asami giggled and shrugged. “Eh, June’s just a wild card. You’re a tad bit too uptight for her, but I wouldn’t say she sincerely _dislikes_ you”

“Asami she hates me. Plain and simple. I understand why though.” Mako shot her a glare as he began walking them towards the entrance. “And I’m not uptight.”

“Mako, sweetie…you’re uptight.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

He looks down at the ground, pouting. “I can be fun when I wanna be…”

“Of course, you can champ!” Asami reaches up to pat his cheek. “Now let’s go inside before June throws a fit.”

Asami is temporarily stunned by the blinding strobe lights and ear drum shattering beat that hits her as soon as she steps foot inside the club. She gives herself a moment to soak in her surroundings, inhaling the sickly-sweet combination of alcohol, perfume, and sweat. Allows her body to absorb the vibrations coming from the hidden sound system in the room. Although she’d never tell June this (mainly because June would never shut up about it but also because Asami didn’t like being wrong), she’s glad that she agreed to come to Club Avatar tonight. Any distraction from her life would do at the moment. Asami figured if she couldn’t get rid of her problems, the least she could do was try to forget about them for a night.

She sets her sight on a booth to the far right of the club, obscure enough to where they can’t be seen easily but that also gives them a great view of the dance floor so that she could keep an eye on June. When sober, June was a lot to handle, but after a few shots, June was nearly impossible to talk down. Asami would have to make sure she didn’t spontaneously start humping some poor guy in the middle of the dance floor, even though she’s sure they most likely wouldn’t mind.

As soon as her and Mako are settled, a waitress saunters up to their booth, asking to take their order. Asami watches in amusement as Mako orders their drinks, completely oblivious to the fact that the waitress is flirting with him. When she finally leaves, Asami lets out a snort and Mako looks over at her, burrowing his eyebrows.

“What?” he asks, his tone serious and slightly defensive.

“Mako, you can’t possibly be this clueless. She was totally flirting with you.”

Sometimes Asami wondered how they ever even started dating; Mako had always been oblivious to emotions.

He scoffs. “She most definitely was not.”

“You’re an imbecile.”

“Am not. She wasn’t flirting! She was just doing her job.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why is she giving you googly eyes right now as we speak?”

He paused, opening his mouth to say something, but deciding not to at the last minute.

“Turn around.”

Sighing, he turned around, mumbling as he did so. “I swear to God, if you have me turning just so you can make fun of m-” His sentence is cut short when he realizes the waitress actually _is_ looking at him, winking when they make eye contact. Mako whips his head back around, blushing.

“ _Fuck_.”

Asami giggled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and resting her elbows on the table, leaning forward to rest her chin in the palms of her hand.

“I would say go for it, but seeing how the press still thinks we’re engaged…now that wouldn’t look too good, would it?”

Mako grimaced but shook his head. “I’m surprised about that. I thought they’d catch on by now, but I guess since we’re not explicitly dating other people and we still hang out…” he let the sentence trail off.

“Maybe they just don’t care that much about me.” She shrugged and leaned back. “Or maybe _he_ has something to do with it. I don’t care anymore.” She didn’t have to tell Mako who she was referring to in the second part of her statement.

Mako reached across the table to gently rub her hand. “How’ve you been holdin’ up?”

Asami sighs, her mind going straight to Korra even though she knows what he’s really asking. She racked her mind for answers that would make her seem strong and in control, but she kept coming up blank. This phase of the cycle was still pretty much the same as it had always been. Asami had defied her father, yes, but usually she always went right back, desperate to be in his good graces again. It had been radio-silent since his initial blow up upon hearing the news, and this worried Asami. Maybe calling it off with Mako was the absolute last straw. Her father controlled almost every aspect of her life, down to the house she lived in, to the monthly salon visits for hair touch-ups. Asami was almost one hundred percent certain that without her father’s donations to Omashu, Zhu Li wouldn’t have been as willing to let her on as a teacher.

Not everything was all bad though. She still had Suki, who had been coming to visit Asami almost every day this week since she made her decision to break it off with Mako. And she had June and Iroh, and , as odd as it seemed, giving the situation, she had Mako. Asami had a solid, supportive friend group, probably for the first time in her entire life. But above all else, she felt free, freer than she’d ever felt before. This may be the calm before the storm, but Asami has made her decision and she’s more than willing to stand outside and wait for the rain if necessary. Sometimes, rain can be cleansing.

“I feel like I can breathe again.” Asami smiled as the waitress set their drinks down on the table. She scooped up her shot of vodka and lifted it up.

“To breathing.” She toasted, clinking her glass against Mako’s and tossing the alcohol down her throat. She gritted her teeth as the liquid lit a trail of fire down to the pit of her stomach and then slowly spread out all over her body. She flexed her fingers and then grinned, flagging down the waitress to order another round.

Four rounds of shots and three dirty martinis later, Asami is feeling looser than she has in years. She’s chatting and joking with Mako, keeping her eyes on June and Iroh as they dominate the dance floor and waving off potential suitors. She feels sexy, charming, and mysterious, most likely due to the rather large amount of alcohol that she’s consumed, but she’s definitely not complaining. It’s the most fun she’s had in a long while, and she’s starting to feel like she might actually deserve this.

She’s in the middle of telling Mako an animated story about her first frat party back before they met when a tall, lean figure floats into her peripheral vision. Asami absentmindedly turns her head towards the figure, not expecting to see much but succumbing to the urge to turn anyways.

_Korra._

That’s the first thing that pops into Asami’s mind as she takes in the figure across the room, mingling with the other clubgoers. She has luscious dark hair and rich brown skin. Her arms and stomach are toned, and she has them on full display, wearing low rise dark blue jeans and a crop top that leaves very little to the imagination. Asami allows the initial wave of shock to pass through as her mind struggled to accept that the woman in front of her was actually _not_ Korra; she just so happened to bare an extremely jarring resemblance. It finally clicked in when the woman turned around and caught Asami’s eye, winking once she realized she was being stared at.

Asami whipped her head around and guided herself through a deep breath. She knew if she were to raise her hand to her face, it would probably burn to a crisp.

“Is everything okay Asami?” Mako raised his eyebrows slightly. She nodded her head yes.

“I think the alcohol is finally catching up to me. Might need some fresh air.”

She made a move to stand up but as soon as she was on her feet, June came flying to the booth, sweaty and out of breath, clutching Asami’s arm like her life depended on dragging Asami to whatever destination she had in mind. Asami inwardly groaned, knowing that the destination would most likely be the dance floor.

“Asami, they’re playing ‘Truth Hurts’! They’re playing Lizzo, Asami! This is a sign from the club Gods, you _have_ to come dance with me!”

June turned and flashed Mako a mega-watt smile, simultaneously flipping him off.

“This one’s for you, fucker.”

Asami glanced at Mako apologetically before June dragged her to the floor, singing the lyrics to the beginning of the song, drunk, happy, and horribly off-key.

Somehow June convinced her to stay after the song ended and dance for the next one too. And then the next one. And then the next one. On and on until Asami lost count and was dripping with sweat by the time she was finally able to escape.

Multiple times while on the dance floor, she would accidentally make eye contact with the mystery woman and hurriedly look away when she found her staring right back. Asami desperately tried to convince herself that the temperature of her face was due wholly to her current activities, and not at all related to the mystery woman. The continuous “accidental” eye contact, however, was debatable. Was it really an accident if she had been _looking_ for the other woman? Probably not.

Asami plops down onto the bar stool, waving down the bartender.

“A big ass cup of water please. With _ice._ ” He laughs and fulfills her request, scooping out chunks of ice from some sort of hidden ice drawer under the bar and then filling the glass with water.

“This one’s on the house.” He winks, setting the glass down on the counter. Asami smiles and thanks him, taking a big gulp of the water and then turning back around to survey the club. The glass nearly slips out of her hand when she spots the tall, dark, and beautiful Korra-lookalike coming directly towards her.

_‘Run. Run God damn it, run! Why won’t my legs move?’_

Asami was a sitting duck, her body refusing to move, her brain still scrambled from dancing and alcohol. Horrified, she watched as the woman got closer and closer until she was right in front of Asami. 

“Hey…um. Is this a bad time? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” The woman scrunched her eyebrows, standing in front of Asami cautiously, as if she was a startled animal that could run off at any given second. She supposed, in many ways, that she was.

_Words, Asami. Respond._

She knew she was meant to say something back and the time frame she had before her silence became awkward was narrowing quickly.

“No!” Asami finally blurted and cleared her throat. “No, I was just… you look a lot like someone I know.” Asami blushed. 

“I hope it’s someone you like, at least.”

“Yea…it is.” Asami grinned.

The woman gestured to the empty seat next to Asami, asking if she could sit down and Asami nodded, studying her as she made herself comfortable on the stool. Up close, she actually looked nothing like Korra. Her skin was a tad brighter with yellow undertones, her face more angular, her hair shorter and a different shade of brown. Light and golden compared to Korra’s dark, chocolate locks. And her eyes, although a pretty, midwinter color were nowhere near as intoxicating as the sparkling, vast ocean eyes that haunted Asami’s thoughts constantly. Even now, in the middle of a club full of sweaty, horny people, adrenaline and alcohol pumping through her veins and a beautiful woman sitting in front of her, her mind would always end up going back to Korra. It was _infuriating_.

She blinked and looked down at the woman’s outstretched hand, who had apparently been talking to her the entire time she was rambling in her own head. Asami smiled and accepted the handshake, but the woman must’ve felt her confusion. She squeezed Asami’s hand and repeated herself.

“I said my name is-” the DJ chooses that exact moment to turn the volume up and introduce a bass-heavy song, completely blocking out the woman’s voice.

“-and what’s yours?” She looked at Asami expectantly. _Shit._ She had missed her name _again_ but, in all honesty, she realized that she didn’t really care to know this woman’s name. At least not at this moment. Not wanting the woman to repeat herself a third time, Asami smiled and played it off.

“My name is Summer.” She didn’t know when she had decided to lie, but it rolled off her tongue smoothly.

“Summer.” It came out almost like a purr. “Parents a big fan of seasons?”

“You could say that. I have a younger sister named Winter, so yea I guess so.”

She laughed, a light, hearty sound. Nothing at all like the deep, rich timbre that was Korra’s laugh.

_‘Stop. Thinking. About. Her.’_

“So, what brings you out tonight, Summer?” A strobe light briefly flashed across her face and Asami could see the mischievous glint in her eyes. She scooted closer until their knees were almost touching and leaned in slightly as she waited for Asami’s answer.

_‘Is she flirting with me?’_

Asami shrugged nonchalantly and took another sip of her water. “The same thing that brought out the hundred other people packed in this sardine can, I suppose. Fun.”

“And how’s that going? Are you having fun?”

“I am, actually. Are you?”

“I am now.” The woman grinned and bit her bottom lip.

_‘Oh, she’s definitely flirting with me.’_

Asami had never been hit on by a woman before. She found that it was tremendously better than being hit on by men. There was a certain grace and charm to the way the woman flirted, not at all the desperate, sleazy approach that men often took to get into her panties. It could also be that Asami actually _wanted_ the woman in her panties (although she wasn’t sure exactly _why,_ but still, she could feel her body going through the beginning stages of arousal).

“Oh, are you really? That wouldn’t have anything to do with me, would it?” Asami said, summoning all the seduction and allure that she had stored away the past three years spent dating Mako.

The woman leaned even closer; her face near enough for her breath to tickle Asami’s lips.

“Maybe so. But I bet we could both have more fun back at my place.” She murmured.

Asami shuddered and had to turn her head away. In a matter of mere seconds, the woman’s intentions had become all too clear and real, and although Asami thought she had wanted the same thing, the realization that she could actually go home with this woman, this complete _stranger,_ if she really wanted to, frightened her. But…she found that she didn’t really want to say _no_ either. She didn’t know what she wanted, really.

“You mind if I take a rain check for tonight? I’m a little tired at the moment.” Asami smiled gently. The woman paused, confusion flitting through her eyes briefly, but then nodded and ran a hand through her hair.

“Oh…oh yea, right. Of course. Listen, I know I’m coming on a little strong, but I thought I saw you checking me out too, so I thought…I hope I didn’t misread the situation, I-”

“You didn’t misread.” Asami quickly assured her.

A grin slowly stretched across her face as she nodded again and then stood up.

“Okay then, so…raincheck?”

Asami rose too. “Raincheck.”

The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded up sticky note, tucking it into the back pocket of Asami’s jeans as she leaned forward, her breast just barely brushing against Asami’s, who sucked in a breath as the woman began to whisper in her ear.

“This is my number, so now…” she tucked the note further in, her entire hand in Asami’s back pocket, and squeezed slightly. “…the ball’s in your court. I hope you see really soon… _Summer_.” She walked away from a dazed Asami, glancing back to wink before slipping into the crowd.

* * *

“ _Whoa_ … so you’re telling me this mystery woman already had her number on a sticky note for you, just ready to hand it out?” June snorts, giving Asami a pointed stare before turning back to the bathroom mirror.

Asami sighed, and leaned back onto the bed, stretching her arms above her head. When June put it like that, Asami felt… _weird_. Or maybe not weird, just less special. Like she was just a number in the line-up, another notch to put on a belt. It also bothered her that the only reason she was even interested in the woman was because she initially bared such a striking resemblance to Korra. Now that she was no longer in her presence, the attraction made her feel perverted.

“Yea… I mean, I was kind of coming on a little strong too, so…”

“Well, I think you should just fuck her.” Asami rolls her eyes. “She clearly wanted to fuck you. As a matter of fact, _why_ are you here and not currently getting your back blown out?!” June exclaimed, wiping the last of the make-up off of her face and then plopping down face first onto Asami’s bed.

“June, you’re sick. And of course, you think that.” Asami turned over in the bed, angling her body towards June.

“Asami, you offend me! You say sick like it’s a bad thing. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a one-night stand, you prude.” She lifts her head up and rolls over on her side, resting on an elbow.

“I don’t do one-night stands June. Plus, I’ve…I’ve never been with a woman. I don’t think I want my first to be a stranger.” Asami frowned.

“Bullshit! You’re telling me you never slept with Stacey?” June asks incredulously.

“No. I’ve literally told you this before.” She shoots June a glare, while June just shrugs sheepishly and signals for her to continue. Asami sighs. “I just never felt ready to and by the time I finally did…she had moved on.” Asami winces as she reminisces about the first (and last) girl she had ever been semi-romantic with.

“That bitch… she was hot, sure, but beauty only goes so far. She was so _bland,_ Asami. I figured the only reason you liked her was because she was a beast in bed or some shit. Turns out you just only date boring people. _Bleh._ ”

“I do _not_ only date boring people!”

June tilted her head, as if in contemplation over the statement.

“Well, no, I guess not. Hot stuff might actually be pretty interesting. However, I’m not sure if she counts, since you haven’t technically _dated_ her just yet.”

“June!”

“What?” She laughed. “Asami, you gotta stop taking life so seriously. I’m kidding.”

“You shouldn’t joke about stuff like that.” Asami grumbled, sitting up to swoop her hair into a messy bun.

“Why not? You hiding something from me ‘Sami?” June squinted her eyes at Asami and laughed when Asami glared back at her.

“No asshole, I’m not hiding anything. And nothing’s gonna happen between Korra and I. _Ever_.”

“You mean besides the things that have already ha-” June is cut short by Asami’s palm slapping over her mouth, her eyebrows raised menacingly.

“Yes June, nothing _else_ is ever going to happen.” June giggled and swatted Asami’s hand away from her mouth

“If you say so, Asamiiii.” June sang. “But all jokes aside, you do actually need to get laid. When’s the last time you were fucked so good you saw stars?”

_Never, to be honest._

“June, _gross_!”

“There’s nothing gross about a mind-blowing, soul-shattering orgasm Asami. Trust me! The Gods have gifted you with a fine specimen, ripe for girl on girl experimentation. _Use her._ ”

“God, see this is why I don’t tell you stuff. You give such shitty advice.” Asami groaned.

“Telling you to just get some is shitty advice!? Fuck you then, I’m going to sleep!” June said, exasperated and rolled off the bed, making her way towards the bedroom door.

“Wait! June…June I really need your help. I…” Asami hesitated. June didn’t _really_ give shitty advice. In fact, the reason her and June had even become best friends is because June was the first person since her mother who actually listened to her, let her vent and then offered solutions that might make her feel better. It was unfair of Asami to snap like that when June didn’t know the entire situation. She genuinely was trying to help.

June turned back around, still standing next to the door, waiting for Asami to continue.

“June…if I tell you something you have to swear that you won’t joke or laugh or make fun of me.” Asami whispered. June was by her side in a flash, gathering Asami’s hands in her own and rubbing them soothingly.

“Of course, ‘Sami. Of course. What’s the matter? Did something happen tonight.” Her eyes narrowed. “Was it _Mako_?”

Asami wanted to laugh at how defensive June got whenever Mako was brought up, but she had to keep June as serious as possible, so instead, she just shook her head no.

“June…the only reason I was interested in that woman tonight was because she…because she looked so much like Korra.” Asami muttered. It took a second for the significance of the statement to sink in, but once it did, June released a quiet “Oh” and then nodded her head understandingly.

“It’s that bad, ‘Sami?” She asked sincerely and the sound of her voice made Asami burst into tears. June cradled Asami against her chest, rubbing her shoulders gently.

“June, I’m trying _so hard_ to do the right thing, but I can’t…I can’t stop thinking about her. What’s _wrong_ with me?” Asami sobbed.

“Hey hey, shitface, there’s nothing wrong with you.” Asami smacked her lips upon hearing the ‘term of endearment’ June had used, but she kept her head tucked into June’s neck. “Korra’s just a great person; I can see why you’d like her. The age gap and student situation are just evil cosmic tricks unfortunately. Nothing to cry over babe.”

Asami sniffled and pulled away, wiping her eyes. “June…what do I do? I don’t know what to do.”

June exhaled, crossing her arms over her chest and taking a minute to think before she responded. “Well…the way I see it, you have two options. Either you try to work something out with Korra, or you do the “right thing” and… continue doing nothing.”

“Work something out? June, she’s my student…that’s literally breaking the law… and so many boundaries. Are you serious right now? I can’t even-”

“Hey hey, I wasn’t _encouraging_ you to work something out with her, just listing it as one of the options, since technically it _is_ -”

“ _NO._ Absolutely not!”

“Okay well fuck it, you only have one option then, and that’s to continue being miserable and fucking Korra lookalikes until you finally die or move on, whichever comes first.” June huffed in annoyance. “I’m just putting everything on the table here, jerk.”

“I know…” Asami drew her anger back in. “I know June…I know you’re only trying to help, I just…I’m frustrated. And I need _real_ solutions. Like an actual way to deal with this that doesn’t involve… _fuck_ I don’t know. Maybe I should visit my shrink again.” Asami considered, her tone a bit sarcastic.

June chuckled. “That’s always a valid choice.” There was a pause before June finally sighed and stood up. “I’m afraid I can’t really help you here ‘Sami. Seems like there’s risks no matter what option you choose. I guess you just have to…figure out what risks you’re okay with taking. I’m here for you, regardless. I love you, dumbass.” June ruffled her hair and Asami smiled up at her.

“That’s probably the best advice you’ve ever given me.”

“Yea yea, well don’t expect it again anytime soon.” June yawned. “Okay, I’m really leaving this time. I have to finish a project for work tomorrow, so I’m gonna head out early in the am; I’ll text you. Have I ever mentioned that I fuckin’ hate my boss?” June muttered.

Asami snorted. “Only about 500 times in the 2 years you’ve been working there.”

“Well it’s cuz I really do. He’s a homophobic asshole.” June grimaced. “Anyways, good night Asami. And turn your brain off for one night, will you? I can hear it sizzling from over here. Stop thinking so much.” She shut the door. Asami waited until she heard the guest room door open and then close quietly before she let out a sigh and got up to brush her teeth and get ready for bed.

She tried to take June’s advice and shut her brain off, she really did, but there’s so much idle time when one is brushing their teeth, and eventually, her mind began to wander.

Not choosing Korra was the sensible option, the _only_ option, obviously. Korra deserved someone who could love her publicly and loudly. Someone who she could be with and not have to hide and could kiss openly and experience the joys of being young and in love. Plus, Korra was her student and eight years younger than Asami, and completely off limits. Suddenly, a visual of Korra and Kuzon in the music room shot through her mind and she wanted to gag. The thought of Korra being with someone else literally made her stomach churn.

Okay then, so what if she chose Korra? What would happen? What would ‘working something out’ with Korra look like. A bunch of sneaking around, secret dates, hurried kisses? What happens if they got caught? Asami would lose everything. Her job, her future, her reputation. She panicked when she thought about what would happen if her father ever found out.

So that was it then; She couldn’t do this. The risks were entirely too great. She would have to move on, and Korra would have to move on. Maybe in another lifetime they could be together, but for _now_ …in this one, they just wouldn’t work.

Asami sighed and settled down into her covers, reaching over to turn her lamp light off when the sticky note from impostor Korra caught her eye. She stared at it for a minute, wondering. Sleeping with the woman certainly wouldn’t make all her problems go away, but it also wouldn’t necessarily _hurt_ anyone. Maybe it could even… _help_. It was very possible that Asami was just orgasm-deprived, and for whatever reason, her mind was projecting that onto Korra.

She reached for her phone, her eyes flitting between the ‘Create new Contact’ screen and the sticky note, unsure, shaky fingers hovering over the keyboard.

_‘Fuck…I can’t…this is ridiculous. This is fucking ridiculous.’_

Puffing in irritation, Asami tugged open her bottom dresser and shoved the sticky note towards the back, tucking it under her hardcover copy of ‘The Sun also Rises’, and slamming the drawer shut.

She switches off the light and lies in the darkness, waiting for sleep to wash over her and offer her relief. Sleep does eventually come, but relief does not come with it. Instead she finds herself at a wedding chapel, watching Korra walk down the aisle with Tonraq. She looks so beautiful that it makes Asami’s heart ache. As she’s passing by, Asami reaches out to touch her, but her hand slides right through, as if Korra’s an illusion, a hologram. Korra continues her trek down the aisle and Asami looks forward to see who she’s walking towards. She’s shocked to see Mako at the arch, beaming at Korra. She snaps her head back around to Korra again and startles once she realizes that the bride is now her, and she’s being walked down the aisle by her father, his grip on her arm tight and unforgiving. She’s at the altar, she’s holding Mako’s hands, she’s listening to the vows. 

“I do.” She hears herself saying. Suddenly the chapel doors burst open and Korra is running down the aisle, her face streaked with tears, her pain and sorrow clear on her face.

“Why are you doing this, Asami? _Why?_ ”

“It’s for the best, Korra.” Asami hears herself pleading. “I promise it’s for the best. I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Korra.”

“But you _did_. You kissed me, Asami. I thought…I thought you wanted me.” Fresh tears pooled in her eyes like water in a bucket, spilling over once it became too much for them to hold in.

“Korra, I _do_ want you.”

Korra looked up at her, and at this point Asami realized that everyone else in the room had disappeared, leaving only her and Korra.

She watched as Korra slowly made her way down the rest of the aisle, closing the distance between them, stopping once she stood right in front of Asami.

“Then choose me.” Korra whispered, before her body suddenly disintegrated into a million tiny monarch butterflies and fluttered away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asami Asami Asami Asami Asamiiiiiii. Ugh. But I guess it’s good that she’s “TRYING” to do the “RIGHT THING”. Right???


	16. Bad Ideas-Tessa Violet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra reaches a breaking point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I just gotta know what you and I would feel like~

~Korra~

* _The night of Winter Formal_ *

Korra dropped her head down onto her knees, twisting her hands together and waiting for Kya to respond to her confession. It was a relief to finally get out what had been plaguing her mind ever since she’d been at the academy, but that initial relief was quickly being replaced with anxiety as she waited for Kya to respond.

“Whooa…wooooow.” Kya exhaled. “Okay…okay so you’re having girl problems with…Miss Sato…whose first name is Asami.” Korra kept quiet but peeked up to gauge Kya’s reaction. She looked more stunned than anything right now, not disgusted or creeped-out, like Korra had feared she would. How exactly is one supposed to react when they find out their friend _like_ likes their biology teacher?

“Okay,” Kya was starting to recover “alright, so by girl problems you mean you have a crush or something, right?” She smirked, fully stable now and ready to commence her teasing attack. “Look at you, shooting for the stars. You’re first crush on a woman and it’s our biology teacher?”

It was ridiculous and childish and _stupid_ , Korra knew that then, but for some reason, the smug look on Kya’s face slightly annoyed her. She knew how much Kya enjoyed teasing her about how naïve and innocent she was about sex related topics. No, she hadn’t actually _done_ anything with Asami, but she knew Kya wouldn’t ever have expected her to get as far as she did. This was the one-time Korra had the opportunity to wipe that smug smile off of her face.

“Ohhh it all makes so much _sense_ now! The mysterious hot, older, teacher librarian jock that you couldn’t get over. Why you didn’t want to go to Miss Sato for pads that one time you ‘started your period’,” Her eyes grew wide as realization spread over her face. She grinned at Korra impishly. “You absolute fucking _minx_! So, those wet dreams were abo-”

“I kissed her.” Korra blurted out. Kya coughed as she choked on the rest of her sentence, her face turning slightly red from her struggle to regain her breath. Try as she might, Korra couldn’t keep her lips from curling up into a small, self-satisfied smile.

_‘Oh, how the tables turn.’_

“You _what_!?” Kya gasped.

“I kissed her.” Korra repeated, matter-of-factly. She dropped her legs and crossed her arms, leaning back against her bedframe. “And she kissed me back. _Twice_.”

“You’re lying. I don’t believe you.”

“I’m not. I promise.”

“No.” Kya shook her head. “There’s no way.”

“Kya, I’m telling the truth. You know I’m not a good liar.”

“Swear it on something. _No no_ , swear it on _someone_.”

“Who?”

“Someone you would never lie on.”

Korra paused to consider her options and then nodded her head.

“Okay fine. I swear on my mother’s grave that I kissed Asami Sato. Twice. No, wait, actually three times. Thrice.” Korra looked Kya directly in her eyes as she made her confession.

There was a brief moment of silence as Kya took a minute to really process what Korra had just said. She swears she actually hears the click of the lightbulb go off once all the puzzle pieces had come together in Kya’s head. The next thing Korra knows, Kya is yanking her off the bed and spinning them both around the room.

“Oh my _GOD. KORRA! Korra_. Korra, what the _FUCK.”_ Kya screams, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. Kya lets her go, then pulls her back then just to push her away again. Korra doesn’t know if she’s dizzied from the relief of finally having someone to talk to about this or from whiplash. She plops clumsily down onto the floor and watches in amusement as Kya continues having a breakdown in the middle of their room.

“I thought you were _straight_. Or Asexual or Aromantic, or…fuckin hell, I don’t know, I don’t _know_ , I just never expected… because you hate talking about…but you kissed a girl…and with Miss…Korra, you’re _GAY?”_

“Kya stop _yelling_. Someone could hear you.” Korra hissed. Kya immediately closed her mouth and nodded, but then opened it again. Her face scrunched up and she looked at Korra like she had a million questions on her mind but truly had no idea where to start.

“Korra… I don’t…I just can’t…what the _fuck_ did I miss?”

Korra sighed and patted the space on the floor next to her. Kya quickly settled down and then turned to Korra expectantly.

“I want the full, entire story bitch. From the top, and don’t leave out a _single_ detail. Not _one_. You understand me?”

“Yes, ma’m.” Korra laughed, and then dived into the extremely embarrassing, utterly horrifying tale of not only having her very first crush, but having it on her Biology teacher, and against all odds, having those feelings _reciprocated._

About an hour later, Korra had worked her way through the entire story, starting from the first night she officially met Asami to what had just transpired at the dance. Kya sat and listened attentively, not cracking a single joke, much to Korra’s surprise. She asked questions when she got the timeline of events confused, and even gasped in shock when Korra told her about what happened the night of Thanksgiving, but other than that, she was the model listener.

After Korra finished, they sat in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the winter formal still going on from across the courtyard. Korra suddenly remembered Kuzon and immediately felt guilty. She would have to call things off with him sooner or later, before he got hurt because of her. The last thing she wanted was to make someone feel as terrible as she had felt for the past month.

As if she was reading her mind, Kya sighed and then leaned her head against Korra’s shoulder.

“So…when are you breaking things off with Kuzon?”

“ _Ughh_ … Kya, I don’t know…I’ve never had to do this before.” She frowned.

“He deserves to know the truth…Well…at least half of the truth. Have you ever actually liked him?”

“No…well yea, I mean…he’s a good person and he’s so much fun to hang out with but-”

“Korra, yes or no.”

“No.” Korra pouted. “At least, not the same way I like Asami. I just…you guys made me feel like I _should_ because you were so excited and happy and I just…I guess I hoped it would rub off on me eventually, but it never did. I always found myself comparing him to her…and wishing it was her instead.” Korra felt tears welling up in her eyes and swiftly brought a hand up to try and wipe them away before they fell. Kya sat up and wrapped her arms around Korra.

“Korra, honey I’m so sorry. I really am. This sucks, I know, but it’ll get better. It’ll hurt for a while, but you’ll learn how to live with it.”

“Is that how it went with you and Lin?” Korra asked. Kya hummed against the top of her head, not giving an answer straight away.

“Yea…something like that.”

_‘Huh? That’s a weird answer.’_

Korra pulls away, ready to question Kya about how she responded but Kya beats her to the punch.

“Korra, you have to call things off with Kuzon, as soon as possible.”

Korra grimaced but nodded her head. Kya was right of course. Better to rip the band-aid off nice and quick, as her mother would say.

“ _And_ you have to apologize to Miss Sato.”

“ _What!?_ Why do _I_ have to apologize?! _”_

“Because you kissed her twice without her permission and you made her cry tonight? Also, you said some really fucked up things to her.” Kya looked at her as if it was obvious.

“Well she made me cry too!” Korra whined.

“Korra she’s our teacher and you’re her student. Of course, she’s gonna try to keep herself away from you. It’s not fair for you to throw yourself at her like that.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with her dry humping me on Thanksgiving night.” Korra crossed her arms and sniffled.

Kya snorted. “She wasn’t in her right mind, you dingus. Plus, she saw the error in her ways and apologized for it already. You, on the other hand, don’t even consider your actions wrong, which is a problem. You should apologize.”

God damn it, as much as Korra hated to admit it, Kya had a point. She didn’t realize until now that she had initiated nearly all of their interactions; how pushy and desperate she must have seemed. And then she had gone and made Asami cry tonight, went out of her way to make her jealous and dragged someone else into her mess, all for no reason. No reason at all. Guilt draped over and wrapped around her body like a curtain, heavy and suffocating. How would she even begin apologizing to Asami? What could she even say that would make her forgivable?

“Korra…she’s engaged. She’s going to get married and soon you won’t see her anymore, probably never again. Don’t…don’t let her leave on a bad note. That’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Suddenly Korra was exhausted, the reality of the situation starting to kick in. Asami would be gone. _Gone_. The first person she had feelings for, but also the first person she could fully open up to and be herself around since her mother had passed away. No, she didn’t want Asami to leave with their relationship in its current state.

“Okay…alright Kya. I want to be better. How do I do this? Where do I start?”

Kya reached over to Korra’s desk and grabbed her phone.

“Let’s start with Kuzon. Tell him you wanna meet and talk tomorrow. And then we go from there. Okay?”

Korra took a deep breath and grabbed the phone from Kya, nodding.

“Okay.”

* * *

Calling things off with Kuzon was incredibly easy, much to Korra’s relief. He was awfully sweet and understanding about everything, echoing her sentiments about going too far and too fast the night of the formal.

“You know, you were my first kiss?” He had confessed to her, his cheeks rosy. Korra felt her own face begin to heat up as she winced, starting to feel even guiltier than before. 

“Geez…I’m sorry Kuzon, I didn’t mean to-”

“No!” He shook his head slightly. “No, Korra I…I honestly wouldn’t have had it any other way.” He smiled shyly. “I really do like you, Korra. I hope in the near future, when we’re both ready…we can maybe try again.”

Korra found that she wasn’t too opposed to the idea when she gave it some thought. Kuzon was nice. He was more than nice honestly; He was sweet and gentle and funny. Maybe once she regained control of her stupid heart, she’d be able to give Kuzon a chance, a _real_ chance.

“Yea…I think I would like that. But for now… friends?” She stuck out her hand to shake on the deal and Kuzon grinned, gripping her hand and giving her a firm shake.

“Friends.”

The hard part came Monday, when Korra had to confront Asami after class and apologize.

“Kya, I can’t do this. I can’t be alone with her yet, it’s too much, I’ll crack. I’ll start crying and make a fool out of myself, I ca-”

Kya had smacked her, not hard, but enough to shock Korra into silence. She cackled at the expression on Korra’s face.

“Oh _shit_ …shit I’m so sorry, I’ve just seen it in so many movies and damn, it was just the _perfect_ opportunity. I couldn’t pass it up, Korra.” Korra remained silent, her mind still trying to process that she had just been slapped. She finally got the sense to glare at Kya, but Kya had just waved her off, unphased.

  
“You can do this, Korra. You might feel like you can’t, but I promise you can. You’ll thank yourself later.”

So, Korra does it. She goes to class on Monday and she sits at the front, in her usual seat and she tries to focus on the lecture, not on how beautiful Asami looks with her hair in a low ponytail. Or how her cheeks are rosy from previously being outside in the cold weather, or how wonderful she smells whenever she waltzes by Korra’s desk, her usual blend of honey and vanilla and lavender, or how good her ass looks in her pencil skirt. By the end of class, Korra is dizzy with longing, her heart screaming at her, begging her to put it out of its misery. It takes everything in her to not stick to her usual routine and sprint out of class as soon as the bell rings, but she grits her teeth and stays put.

After the last student leaves, she quietly makes her way over to Asami, pulling her chair behind her and sitting down in front of the desk.

_‘Just like old times.’_

Asami looks up in surprise and if Korra didn’t think her mind was trying to trick her into seeing things, she would swear Asami’s eyes were sparkling. Maybe she had been wanting to talk to Korra too.

“Hey, Korra. How can I help you?”

Korra took a deep breath, and then spoke up, forcing herself to look into Asami’s eyes.

“I wanted to apologize. For everything. For throwing myself at you multiple times, and for making you cry, and for what happened on Friday, I just…” Korra had to look away, finding it hard to make eye contact. The whole ordeal was so _embarrassing._ Kya had really cracked her open and forced her to look at herself over the weekend, really exposed just how childish she was being about everything.

“I understand…why we can’t…happen. And I’m sorry for all the mean things I’ve said to you.” She paused to exhale and gather her strength before pressing on. “But I…I would like to try again. Try to be friends…before you leave. If you’ll have me.”

“Of course, Korra.” Asami gushed. “Of course, we can be friends. I’ve never…I never stopped being your friend.” She smiled at Korra and suddenly the heavy clouds that had been hanging over her head for the past few weeks dissipated, and the light from the heavens above shined through. She had missed seeing Asami smile at her more than she cared to admit.

“Okay then…well I guess I’m glad that’s out of the way.” Korra stood up and Asami followed suit.

“What are you doing right now? You wanna help me hang up my Christmas decorations?” She laughed. “I know I’m late; I’ve just been a little distracted lately. But hey, better late than never right?”

Korra hesitated, not really sure how to answer. There was nothing in the world she wanted to do more than stay and spend time with Asami, but she knew she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be alone with her for extended periods of time just yet. She would probably do something embarrassing, like start crying when she randomly thought about them never seeing each other again. Or even worse, she could do something rash, like misread the situation and kiss her.

“Oh…ummm I can’t today. I have…basketball tryouts.” It wasn’t exactly a _lie_. There _were_ basketball tryouts today, and after much convincing, Jessica had finally convinced her to try and join. Korra had talked to Coach Kurvira about joining last week and she seemed delighted, offering her an automatic spot on the JV team, with a chance to work her way up to Varsity if she performed well enough. She could go to tryouts today if she wanted to, but Coach Kurvira had told her it was completely optional.

Asami grinned. “Oh wow! I didn’t know you played basketball. You’re a jack of trades.”

Korra shrugged shyly. “Eh… I just like to be active.”

“Okay, well what about tomorrow?”

“It’s kind of an all week thing, so…”

“Oh.” Asami nodded her head slowly and cleared her throat. “Right…okay...I understand.”

“I’m really sorry, Asami.” Korra started fidgeting with the strings of her backpack. She had never been a good liar, and she hated lying to Asami about this, but she couldn’t be around her right now. She just _couldn’t_.

Asami stared at her intently for a moment, as if she could see right through her. She finally gave Korra a small smile. “Don’t apologize, Korra. It’s fine, really.” Korra gathered her bags up to leave, turning to Asami before she left.

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow?”

Asami had been staring ahead absentmindedly, and slowly turned to face Korra, and she saw it. That dark expression that Korra could never quite figure out, but today she felt like if she had just a few more moments to study it…

Asami blinked and the expression disappeared as quickly as it had been there.

“Yea, I’ll see you in class. Goodbye, Korra.”

Korra closed the door and leaned against the frame, releasing a breath that she hadn’t even realized she was holding. This had gone a lot better than she expected it to, but it wasn’t any easier. She had come to the conclusion that she wouldn’t spend any more time with Asami outside of class. It would just make it more painful when she actually had to leave.

Korra sighed and lifted herself off the door, glancing around the empty hallway and trying to figure out her next move. She didn’t feel like going to the basketball tryouts, but she didn’t really feel like going back to her room either. She settled on wandering around the campus and seeing where her feet took her.

Korra wandered from the science block to the maze adjacent to the building, hesitating at its entrance. The last time she was in here was on Halloween, which brought back painful memories of helping Asami get ready to go to the ball with her…fiancé. Asami was getting married. She was _leaving_. Forever. The concept of forever was still so foreign and disgruntling to Korra.

It took her months to finally accept that her mother was gone forever. She had lost count of how many times she would look towards their front door and pray to miraculously see her mother striding through, her tote bag hanging from her shoulder, tired but happy to be home with her family. But she never did. And now Asami was leaving her too, only this time in a different way. There was a sort of comfort in the finality of her mother’s death; At least she knew there was no chance of her miraculously coming back to life. Her body rested in a graveyard and Korra could make trips to visit her and get a peace of mind. She wasn’t _there_ with Korra, but in a way she was still present.

Asami would be alive and well, but no longer existent in Korra’s life, and in many ways this was so much worse than if she had actually died. Korra would spend the rest of her life clutching to the thin strand of hope that she would see Asami again. Her days would consist of her doing double takes every time she saw black hair; green eyes would forever haunt her dreams and the thought red lipstick would leave a sour taste in her mouth. Asami had even ruined the smell of lavender for her! Why did she always smell like fucking lavender?! 

Irritated, Korra spun around and stomped away from the entrance of the maze. There wasn’t a single place on this stupid campus that didn’t remind her of Asami, so she would just go back to her room and try to do homework until dinner. Or scream into a pillow. Or punch a hole in the wall, whichever one distracted her the most. She makes her way around the science block and is just about to begin crossing the courtyard when she hears piano music drifting from the arts block. The song is eerily familiar, both sad and beautiful, and Korra finds herself drawn to it.

Curiosity gets the better of her and she begins gravitating towards the music, intent on finding the source. She passes the teacher’s parking lot and finds herself in front of a backdoor that’s slightly ajar, slips through and discovers that it leads to the music room. There, seated at the piano herself, is the very woman she was trying to escape from. It’s like the universe enjoys putting her in these awkward predicaments, eager to see new ways that Korra might make a fool of herself.

She readies herself to leave the room as quietly as she slipped in, but something about the song and the way Asami is playing it keeps her there. Asami has such a gloomy, withdrawn expression on her face, and a faraway look in her eyes, as if her body is there but _she’s_ not. Her hands move over the piano keys with practiced skill and grace. Korra finds her fingers itching for her camera, wanting desperately to capture this moment and tuck it away in her back pocket, reveling in the knowledge that it would be for her eyes only.

She watches as Asami finally finishes the song, staring at the keys in silence for a moment. Korra doesn’t know what exactly possesses her to speak up; maybe it’s the forlorn look on Asami’s face, or the way the setting sun is hitting her, making her look almost angelic. She had taken her hair out of her ponytail and let it cascade down around her shoulders in luscious waves, a few small curls framing her face. Korra felt that she had never looked as beautiful as she did now.

“Was that ‘Is this Happiness’? By Lana del Rey?” Korra broke the silence and startled Asami out of her trance. Asami looked at her strangely for a minute before nodding her head and turning her attention back to the keys, staring down at them as if they would speak to her and give her all the answers to life’s many questions.

“I didn’t know you played the piano.” Korra didn’t know what else to say. She cautiously walked closer and closer until she was at the opposite end of the piano, staring at Asami from across the closed lid.

Asami shrugged. “Since I was a little girl. My mom taught me.” She kept her gaze on the piano keys, thinking, searching.

Mine too, Korra wanted to respond , but didn’t. She let Asami’s sentence hang in the air until it finally dropped and left a tense silence in its wake. Korra couldn’t come up with anything to fill the gap and it didn’t look like Asami was going to be aiding her. Maybe she just wanted to be left alone; Korra could relate to that.

Sighing, she turned and was about to leave Asami to her own devices when Asami finally spoke up.

“Why aren’t you at basketball tryouts?”

It was a simple question, but Korra could sense something else behind it, something heavy and anxious. It made the hairs on her arms stand up.

“Oh, I got out early. Did really good.”

“You’re lying.” Asami said softly, wounded. “You were lying earlier too, about it being an all-week thing. Why are you avoiding me, Korra?” She finally looked up and Korra saw how glassy her eyes were. Jesus Christ, no matter how hard she tried it was like everything she did was wrong.

Frustrated, she snapped.

“Asami, what do you want from me?”

“I want you to be honest with me.”

“It _hurts_ to be around you.” Korra hissed. Asami inhaled sharply, her mouth hanging slightly open in shock, her hand coming up to clutch at the invisible pearls hanging around her neck.

“It…it _hurts_?” Asami croaked out.

“Asami, I’ve been trying so hard, _so hard_ to just… _move on_. To let you go. But I can’t. I don’t know why this is so hard for me, but it is. I accidentally dragged Kuzon into this and started doing stupid things to make you jealous and I kept throwing myself at you but you would always reject me and it’s _embarrassing_ and I’m tired of crying, I’m tired of feeling like this but I can’t-” Korra stopped to catch her breath, struggling to keep her tears at bay. “Sometimes I wish I had never come here, had never met you.” Korra whispered, looking up at Asami. The expression on Asami’s face nearly killed her, but she persisted anyways.

“But then I think about your smile, or the way you laugh, or how it felt when you kissed me, and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything in the world. I’d rather go through feeling like this a million times, over and over, then to have never experienced you. I-” Korra felt a sob trying to force its way out of her throat and she clamped her mouth shut to keep it in. She would no longer break down in front of Asami. That stage of her life was over. She opened her mouth to finish talking when Asami suddenly stood up with intention.

Korra watched curiously as Asami nervously wrung her hands together. Her face looked like she was fighting some kind of impossible, internal battle; Korra would kill to be able to read her mind right now.

“I broke up with Mako.” She blurted out. Korra gave her a blank stare, and Asami took it as a sign to repeat herself. “I called it off…the wedding, I called it…so I won’t be leaving.”

Korra nodded her head slowly, not really sure where this was heading. “Okay.”

“So, we don’t…there’s not a timeline for you to…you can take as long as you need to talk to me. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”

Asami looked at Korra then, made direct eye contact, and Korra saw it. That same dark expression that she had never been able to read, but that always struck the same feeling in her, making the tiny hairs all over her body rise and causing her heart to pump blood faster. It was so eerily familiar and the meaning of it was so close to making sense in her head, she could almost feel it, could almost _taste_ it. She frantically tried to remember where she had seen this expression before, hoping that could help her make sense of it. Her eyes flitted down to the piano bench and the memory of being here with Kuzon rushed back to her. That’s when clarity surged through her like wind through a sail, propelling her forward with the newfound knowledge of what that expression _meant_.

She had seen the same look on Kuzon’s face the night of the dance, perched on top of his lap and feeling his length press into her. It’s the same look Asami had the night that they first kissed, and the night before when Korra had helped her get ready, and even weeks before that, at the beach, when she had caught her staring right before Kuzon gave her surfboard lessons. Asami _wanted_ her. She wanted Korra the same way that Korra wanted her and had so for a long time.

“Asami…do you really want to _just_ be friends with me?”

Asami snapped her eyes shut and took a deep breath. When she opened them, there was an intensity there that Korra had never seen before. It both frightened and excited her at the same time.

“No.” She breathed, and then strode towards Korra.

Asami lifted her up onto the lid of the piano, settled in between her legs and then roughly pulled Korra into a searing kiss, weaving fingers through her hair. Korra moaned and wrapped her legs around Asami’s waist, cupping her face and drawing her in as close as she possibly could. This kiss was nothing like their first one; this one was bruising, and passionate, and electrifying. Korra felt like she was dying and being reborn at the same time, fire ripping its way savagely through her body, making her aware of everything. She broke away from Asami to catch her breath and could almost cry at how raw and uninhibited Asami looked, her mouth wet and swollen, her lipstick smeared, her pupils blown. Korra watched her chest heave up and down as she struggled to catch her breath too. She snaked a hand up into Asami’s hair and pulled, exposing her neck, leaning forward to plant kisses along it and suck on the junction where it connected to her collarbone. Asami’s hands slithered down her body and tightened around her waist.

“ _Ahhh…fuck. Korra_.” Her voice was so ragged and husky; Korra moaned at the sound of it. Never did she think she would be able to hear Asami like this if not in her dreams. She hungrily licked and nipped her way to the other side of Asami’s neck, sucking on the pulse point there too, causing another sweet moan to fall out of Asami’s mouth.

_“God, Korra. Please…pleeeasee.”_ Asami panted in her ear. She started to pull away and Korra whined, locking her legs around Asami tighter, refusing to let her go.

“Korra…we can’t-” Korra sucked Asami’s bottom lip into her mouth, biting it slightly and releasing it with a ‘pop’. “ _Fuck._ We can’t do this here. Korra, _please_.” Asami begged.

Korra pulled away slightly but kept her legs tight around Asami’s waist. She cupped Asami’s face into her hands and pouted down at her.

“Take me somewhere we can.” She challenged, her voice sounding funny to her own ears.

Korra watched quietly as a million emotions flickered over Asami’s face, her eyebrows scrunching as she fought an internal battle. She gently took Asami’s hand into her own, pressing featherlight kisses on her knuckles. Looking up, she found Asami staring at her intensely and shivered, knowing what that look meant now. Asami had made her decision.

She allowed Asami to help her off the piano and gathered her things as fast as possible before Asami roughly grabbed her by the wrist and started pulling her towards the exit that led to the teacher’s parking lot.

“Asami? Asami, where are we going?”

“My car.” She muttered, pushing the door open and stepping out into the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the games begin!


	17. Make Out in My Car-Moses Sumney and Sufjan Stevens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami breaks her rules.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~And though I'm dying to fall in love with you, I just wanna make out in my car~

~Asami~

Asami’s grip on the steering wheel tightened in irritation as she pulled the car to a stop in front of yet _another_ red light. She’s racking her mind for places Korra and her could go to do…whatever it is that they were doing, but it’s incredibly fucking difficult for her to think about _anything_ with Korra’s hand resting on her thigh as she drives, tracing small circles into her. Even through the thick material of her polyester pencil skirt and her pantyhose underneath it, she can still feel Korra’s touch as if it was against her bare skin, each circle sending a jolt of white-hot electricity straight between her legs. Asami tries to discreetly squeeze her legs together and press further down in her seat in search of friction. She feels Korra look over at her but ignores her and instead focuses on keeping the car in between the white dotted lines on the street.

“You okay?” Korra lightly squeezes her thigh, waiting for a response. This only serves to turn Asami on even more.

“Mmhmm.” There was absolutely _no way_ Korra didn’t know the effect she had on Asami right now. Yet, Asami didn’t hear even a hint of teasing in Korra’s voice, only genuine concern. She took a deep breath and glanced over, offering Korra a small smile.

“Just trying to figure out where I’m going.”

“We can go to your place.” Korra offers, and Asami’s breath catches in her throat, the prospect of having Korra in her home, better yet, her _bedroom_ , making her dizzy. Too soon. _Way_ too soon. She stiffly shakes her head no and presses her foot down on the gas the second the light turns green.

“Or we could go to the beach.” A viable option. “Or the secret spot you showed me.” Too open, too visible, someone might wander off the trail and find them. “Or a gas station?” Asami crinkled her nose and stared at Korra in disbelief. Korra grinned at her.

Her hand crept higher up Asami’s thigh, slowly pulling up her pencil skirt along with it, making Asami shiver. Korra leaned over the center console, briefly removing her hand from her thigh to tuck a piece of Asami’s hair behind her ear.

“Or you can just pull over to the side of the road and take me right now.” Korra murmured into her neck. It took all, literally _all_ , of Asami’s strength to not take her up on that offer.

“Korra, I’m gonna crash the car if you keep this up. Is that what you want?”

Korra snickered and pulled away, her hand returning to its position on her leg.

“Guess you better hurry up and find a place to park then, huh?”

_‘Alright, fine. The beach it is.’_

Korra reaches forward to turn the radio up and then leans back against her seat, closing her eyes, her hand still resting on Asami’s leg. The rest of the car ride is silent, save for the jazz coming from the radio and the rush of wind pushing through the small opening of the car windows. Asami finally gets to the beach and pulls the car into a secluded area of the parking lot, shutting it off and leaning back against her seat. She faintly hears the click of Korra’s seatbelt as she unbuckles it.

Her mind has been running rampant during the drive here and now that Korra has finally stopped touching her, the initial wave of burning desire started to subside and was quickly being replaced with a new emotion: panic.

What the hell was she _doing_? Korra was her _student_. And seventeen years old. This was wrong on so many levels, Asami had to stop this before it went too far; So much was at stake for her. She couldn’t do this; she _wouldn’t_ do this to herself.

“Korra…I’m so sorry, we have to go back. I can’t do this, we sho- _mmmph.”_ Asami is cut short by Korra grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and yanking her into a heated kiss. She breaks away briefly, only to rake her hands through Asami’s hair and roughly bunch it up in her hands, tugging it down so Asami is forced to look up at her.

“Don’t you _dare_ back out now, Asami. Kiss me, damn it. _Please_?”

Asami whimpers and nods her head, moaning when Korra dives back in and presses her warm, soft lips against Asami’s. How on earth is it possible to be hard, yet soft; gentle, yet rough all at once? Nobody has ever kissed her like this; like it was a matter of life and death and they would _die_ if they didn’t kiss her. She’s trying her hardest not to be overwhelmed by the intensity of the situation but Korra’s like a magnet and Asami has absolutely no control over her body being drawn to her.

“Backseat, Korra.” She begs, her last-ditch effort to cling onto the little bit of authority she had left. “Korraaaa…” Why does it feel so good when Korra sucks her bottom lip like that? “Backseat… _please_.” Korra growls and reluctantly pulls away, scrambling over the console and into the backseat. Asami is briefly able to thank God that her windows are tinted before she feels Korra’s hands fumbling with the latch to her seatbelt and then start pulling on her once the belt snaps free. 

“ _Korra_!” Asami gasps as she’s dragged over the center console to join Korra in the back. Korra giggles and gives her an insincere apology before her hands immediately start roaming Asami’s body, her lips connecting to Asami’s neck.

Asami groans and involuntarily throws her head back, allowing Korra better access to her neck. She feels a wet, hot tongue slide exploringly down her neck and into the dip in the middle, swirling a few times before lips kiss the wetness away and start nipping across her collarbone. She’s so turned on she feels dizzy. This isn’t how she wants tonight to go; she would never be able to forgive herself if she was the reason Korra’s first time with another person (or more specifically, _her_ first time with Korra) was hiding in the back of a car in a beach parking lot. She has to regain control now or she would regret this night forever.

“ _Korra_ …stop.” Asami pants, half-heartedly. Korra hums against her shoulder, reaching down to fiddle with the zipper of Asami’s skirt. She tugs it a few times and then gives up when it won’t budge, opting instead to try and lift Asami’s skirt higher. Asami reaches down to grab onto Korra’s hand, which is now dangerously close to the space between her legs. She grips it firmly, making Korra stop what she’s doing and pull back slightly.

“Asami?” She’s confused.

“Korra…we have to slow down.” Korra inhales sharply and pulls away from Asami in embarrassment. Asami can’t see her face, but she’s almost positive that Korra is blushing.

“Asami…oh my God, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, I-”

“Shhh hey, hey. It’s okay. You didn’t do anything I didn’t want you to, okay?” Asami cups Korra’s face in her hands and soothingly rubs her thumb over Korra’s cheeks. “We just have to…set a couple boundaries. Liiiike…” Asami slid her hands down and interlocked her fingers with Korra’s. “No touching.” Korra whines at this but Asami shakes her head, resolved. “I can’t…I don’t trust what I might do if you touch me Korra.” Korra sighs but nods her head.

“We can hold hands, but that’s it.” Asami tried to rack her brain for what else was off limits. “Also, no hickeys, no kissing my neck, don’t suck my bottom lip like that-”

“I thought you liked that.” Korra says, aghast.

“A little too much.” Asami murmurs darkly and she feels Korra’s grip on her hands tighten.

“Is there anything else, Asami?” Korra mutters through gritted teeth. She’s so eager, Asami would think it was endearing if it didn’t turn her on so much.

“And no tongue.” Korra smacks her lips.

“So, what _can_ I do?”

“We can just go back now if you can’t respect my boundaries.” She raised an eyebrow.

“I hate you and your stupid boundaries, but I respect them. Now _please_ kiss me before I explode.”

Asami grins and leans forward to gently press her lips against Korra’s, feeling a bit better now that she put some rules in place, though she’s not sure exactly how much they really helped. They’re able to keep up a slow, steady pace before Korra finally gets the hang of kissing her and starts switching up her technique. Asami allows her to take the lead, rubbing gentle, encouraging circles on the palms of Korra’s hands, turning her head this way and that way to match Korra’s pace. The only sounds in the car are of their lips smacking together and pulling apart and Korra’s occasional breathy moans that turn Asami on more than she would ever care to admit. This situation, the no touching, no tongue thing, works for about an hour before Asami can feel Korra start to get restless. Eventually, Korra pulls apart to beg for permission to do more, pouting up at Asami with big, puppy-dog eyes. Asami laughs, secretly flattered that someone could ever want her this much, but shakes her head no.

“It’s almost dinner, Korra. We have to get cleaned up and go back.”

Korra tilts her head in confusion when Asami mentions cleaning up.

“You have my lipstick…all over your…” Asami gestures around Korra’s face. Korra scrambles into the front seat to look at herself in the mirror and burst into laughter.

“I actually kind of like how I look. It’s sexy.” She turns around to wink at Asami, who just laughs and shakes her head.

“You look like a clown.” Asami muses, climbing awkwardly into the front seat and then fishing in her purse to hand Korra some tissue.

“Oh really? You’re the one with the big red nose.” Korra snorts. Asami raises her eyebrow, then pulls her mirror down to have a look at her face, gasping in horror once she takes in the state of her appearance. Just as Korra said, there’s a big, red spot on her nose, along with her smeared lipstick and red streaks going down her neck.

“Korra!”

“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” Korra has the sense to sound slightly apologetic. “Can’t say I wouldn’t do it again though.”

Asami rolls her eyes and starts cleaning herself up. Once she’s done, she steers out of the parking lot and heads back to Omashu, letting the windows down slightly to get some air into the car. Korra is staring ahead dreamily, stealing occasional glances at Asami, who pretends not to notice at first but eventually gives in.

“What?” Asami laughs.

“Nothing, I just…” Korra shakes her head, almost in disbelief. “I can’t believe I got to kiss you. I like kissing you.”

Asami blushes and fights to keep her voice steady. “I like kissing you too Korra.”

“Am I a good kisser?”

“Eh.” She makes a face as if to say ‘so-so’.

“Asami!”

“I’m kidding, Korra.” Asami chuckles. “You’re a good kisser.”

“But not the best kisser you’ve ever been with?”

_‘To be honest, you probably are.’_

“Korra, why does that matter?”

“Because…because I wanna impress you. I wanna make you feel good.” Korra frowns. Hearing that shouldn’t turn her on that much. _Why_ is this turning her on so much?

Asami shivers and reaches to turn the radio up slightly higher, hoping to drown out the sound of her pounding heart.

“Well then, maybe you should practice.”

“With you?” _‘God, help me.’_

“No, on your hand, of course.”

“But you’re so much more fun.” Korra whines.

Asami laughs as she pulls into the Omashu parking lot and turns off her car.

“Goodbye, Korra.”

“You don’t wanna talk about this?” Korra asks, surprised. She has a point; they probably should, but Asami doesn’t trust her brain to make good decisions right now. The longer Korra stayed in the car, the higher chance of her doing something irrational.

“Unh unh. Not tonight. Goodbye, Korra.”

“Well, can I kiss you one more time?”

“ _Goodbye, Korra_.” Asami repeats, firmer, it taking everything in her not to give into Korra’s request. Korra sighs but unbuckles her seatbelt and gets out the car, heading to the trunk to grab her stuff. She walks around to Asami’s window and knocks on it. Asami rolls it down halfway, somewhat scared Korra might ignore her and kiss her on campus anyways.

“This isn’t over, Miss Sato.” She mutters and then swivels around, marching towards the year 11 housing block. Asami rolls her window back up and finally takes a deep breath for the first time in hours. Her brain hasn’t entirely processed exactly what just transpired. Every time she tries to, all she can remember is the feeling of Korra’s lips against her own, Korra’s tongue running down her neck, her hand squeezing Asami’s thigh. Then her brain short circuits and Asami has to do breathing exercises to calm herself down, just to repeat the cycle a few minutes later. She eventually gives up and tucks the problem away for future Asami to worry about.

The worry hits future Asami like a ton of bricks, conveniently as soon as she settles her head down on her pillow to fall asleep. The high she had been on all evening crashed down on her while in solitude. She had kissed Korra. No, not kiss, a kiss was too fleeting. She had _made out_ with Korra. And even worse, she _ached_ to do it again. She couldn’t of course. Selfishly, she had to worry about her own livelihood. She could lose her job, ruin her reputation, destroy her future if anyone ever found out. She would be listed as a sexual predator. She could go to _jail_.

Then, she thought about what this could do to Korra. She was only seventeen. Sure, she’d be eighteen in less than a month, but would that make much of a difference? She was mature for her age, but still a teenager, with so much of her life ahead of her. She might _think_ she wanted Asami, but she didn’t know any better. Eighteen-year-old Asami definitely made some questionable choices, but then again, she wasn’t nearly as emotionally intelligent as Korra was at this age. She had let her mother’s death consume and swallow her whole, made her reckless. Korra was still so open, and loving, and trusting.

But none of that mattered. None of it mattered, because Asami had made up her mind. Tonight, would never happen again. _Ever._

Content with her decision, she sighed into her pillow, a smile crossing her lips as her brain looped her through tonight’s events, replaying them over and over again as she slipped into her dreams.

* * *

She’s an anxious, sweating mess the next day, having to skip putting on make-up because it looks too cakey and shiny. She misses breakfast, scared she might run into Korra and do something stupid, although she’s not sure what. It’s not like she would just walk up and start kissing her, nor is it likely that Korra would do that. Or would she? Oh God, _would_ she? _Fuck._

Somehow the day goes by incredibly slow but awfully fast, with Asami having to drink water constantly and press an ice pack to her face to try and keep her temperature down. Nobody seems to notice though, and she marvels at her well ingrained ability to appear calm and collected even though she was dying inside.

Asami isn’t sure what to expect when sixth period rolls around and Korra strides into her room, but apparently, she hadn’t been expecting Korra to act this nonchalant. She takes her usual seat at the front of the classroom, sending a tiny smile at Asami and opening her backpack up to take out what she needs for the lesson.

Asami is taken aback by the overwhelming urge she feels to pull Korra out of the classroom and slam her up against a locker, kissing her until she begs Asami for air. It’s almost scary, how uncaring Korra is acting. She’s suddenly sucked back into those horrendous few weeks where she was engaged to Mako and Korra hated her guts. Korra barely glances at her, only raises her hand a couple times to participate, giving short answers and looking right back down. Asami fears that yesterday might have been some sort of extremely vivid fever dream; some wild journey that she concocted to help her cope with her pathetic life. What if it was all a dream and she was still engaged to Mako? She worriedly glanced down at her ring finger and almost sighed in relief when she saw the empty digit.

By the end of class, Asami is a wrecking ball of emotions. She’s relieved that Korra was able to act like nothing happened, but also pissed off that Korra was able to act like nothing happened, and overall upset that she was pissed off about Korra being nonchalant. Honestly, what the hell _did_ she want?

The bell rings and Asami dismisses everyone, going back to her desk to sort out her papers. Once everyone files out of the classroom, she feels a presence looming over her and glances up to see Korra smiling down softly.

“You ready to finish putting up the Christmas decorations?” She asks sweetly. Asami clears her throat.

“Oh. Yea, sure.” She smiles.

Did she really dream the whole thing up? Why is Korra being so calm, almost as if nothing happened? Either Asami was overreacting about everything or she actually _didn’t_ make-out with her student last night and might need to go ahead and schedule that appointment with her shrink.

They go around putting up the Christmas decorations for a while, holiday music playing quietly in the background, and Asami is seriously considering calling up her shrink at this point.

_‘This is it. I’ve gone crazy. I’ve officially lost it.’_

She’s so deep in thought that she almost doesn’t register the _‘click’_ of the classroom door locking, but she does. Before she can turn around to see what’s happening, Korra is pressed against her back, flattening her out against the white board, Christmas light slipping out of her hands. She moans as Korra moves her hair to the side and starts pressing kisses against the back of her neck, her arms wrapping around Asami’s waist and clutching to her stomach desperately. Asami brings her hands down to Korra’s arms and weakly tries to pull them away. 

“ _Korraaa…ah.”_ She gasps when Korra nips her earlobe.

“I missed you so much, ‘Sami.” Korra moans into her ear.

Asami chuckles softly. “You just saw me last night at dinner.”

“I miss touching you like this. _Kissing_ you. Take me to the beach.” Korra moves back down to her neck and kisses her way to the other side, pulling Asami’s head down in the opposite direction.

Asami groans. “Korra…Korra I can’t.”

 _“Please,_ Asami. I _need_ you. _Please?_ ” 

_‘Asami, say no. Just say no. Tell her no.’_

Korra exhaled softly against her neck and tentatively stroked her tongue along her jawline. Asami whimpered against the whiteboard and squeezed her eyes shut, slowly nodding her head yes.

“Okay…okay Korra, we can go. We can go.”

* * *

They repeat this cycle for the rest of the week, sneaking off campus to drive to the beach and make-out for an hour and then drive back. Sometimes Asami is the one to initiate it, other times it’s Korra. Asami sticks to her rules of no touching or tongue kissing because she really doesn’t want them to go too far. She tries to stop it from happening, but she can’t seem to keep herself away from Korra. Every night are the same fits of worry, fear, and doubt, every morning she wakes up a sweaty, nervous wreck, just to repeat the previous day’s actions.

“I’m going home this weekend.” She tells Korra Friday night on the drive back- to the academy from the beach. Korra smiles lazily at her, bringing Asami’s hand up to her mouth to press soft, loving kisses against her fingers. An icy chill zipped through Asami’s body and she swallows thickly at the sweet gesture.

“Take me with you?” Korra whispers against her hand.

Asami smiled but shook her head no. “I need to catch up on grading. I can’t focus with you around.” Korra pouts but tells Asami she understands.

In all honesty, Asami was trying to distance herself from Korra. Something was happening to her; she was starting to lose control of her mind, her body, her heart. She had successfully been able to build up her walls and shut down her feelings after her mom passed away. She was used to feeling numb, but something about Korra made her want to run, and scream, cry, and dance. Much to her dismay, she didn’t hate it. She _wanted_ to feel alive, wanted to be happy, even if that meant opening herself up to potential heartbreak again. No matter how hard she fought, she would always succumb to Korra, and it was starting to irritate her.

Asami swears the next two days are the longest in her _life_. Her plan to separate herself from Korra in order to clear her head and get some work done backfires horribly. Instead of getting anything done, she spends the entire weekend thinking about Korra, feeling the ghost of her lips trail along her neck, hearing her faint moans, sighing into her pillow at the memory of Korra calling her name. She feels absolutely pathetic as she fumbles around her nightstand drawer for her vibrator, but after a week full of buildup and no climax, she might explode and do something she regrets if she doesn’t release some tension.

She goes back to campus earlier than usual on Sunday, both eager and anxious to see Korra. To her surprise, Korra is waiting for her right outside the door to her room. She’s leaning against the frame, her arms crossed, her eyes closed. Her hair is swooped up into a high ponytail and she’s wearing black leggings, black and white converse, and a long-sleeved crop top. Only Korra would wear a crop top in the middle of winter.

Asami clears her throat and Korra pops her eyes open, blinking a few times to clear her vision. Once she takes in Asami, her face softens and she gives her signature, crooked grin. Her gaze slowly makes its way down and takes in the rest of Asami in her form fitting, turtleneck black dress and red-bottomed heels. Her face darkens almost instantly, and she licks her lips. Asami feels her knees almost give out.

Korra looks back up to Asami, silently pleading. Sighing, she gives in.

“I’ll be in the car. Get a coat.” She demands, before entering the code to her room to dump her things next to her bed. Wordlessly, Korra whips around and makes a speedy descent down the stairs. Asami can’t help but giggle at how excited Korra is at the prospect of kissing her. No one’s _ever_ been this eager to be with her.

Asami takes her car around to the side gate of the housing block and waits for Korra to come out. She finally does, having thrown on a light blue hoodie and letting her hair down. It floats around her shoulders, framing her face like a dark brown halo. Asami tries to ignore the flicker of excitement that flits through her body at the possibility of running her fingers through it. Korra notices her in the car and grins, jogging to hurry up and reach her. Asami unlocks the door and Korra slides in, a wave of cinnamon and citrus hitting Asami’s nose. She tries to inhale as deeply as she can without making it obvious.

“You smell good.” She compliments.

Korra buckles her seat and looks over at Asami, her lips curling up into an impish smile. “Not as good as you taste.”

“ _Korra!_ ” Asami gasps. This sudden wave of confidence that Korra has developed over the past week is both dizzying and intoxicating, turning her on beyond reasoning.

Korra simply laughs, placing one hand in its usual position on Asami’s thigh and using the other to turn on the radio.

The drive there is silent as usual, with Korra humming along to the radio quietly, leaning her head out the window, letting the wind blow through it and whip it out in multiple different directions. There is not a single person in the world, Asami thinks, that is anywhere near as beautiful as Korra is. Not a single person. She’s overwhelmed by the intensity of emotions she feels bubbling up in her chest, and has to look away from her, taking a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves.

They finally arrive at the beach and Asami barely has time to put the car in park and take her seat belt off before Korra clambers to the backseat, hauling Asami over the console right after. Asami doesn’t have time to repeat her rules as she usually does before Korra pounces, straddling her lap and running her hands through Asami’s hair.

“Please touch me ‘Sami. _Please_.”

Asami opens her mouth to protest but a strangled moan comes out instead as Korra swipes her tongue up her neck, needy, desperate.

“Just for tonight Asami. _Please.”_ Korra begs. It wouldn’t be just for tonight; Asami knew that much. She would try to fight it, and she might even win a few battles, but she knew she would always give in to Korra. There was no winning this war; She was in too deep.

She nods and slowly brings her hands to rest against Korra’s hips. They stay in this position for a while, Korra’s hands taking off her coat and then roaming along her body, exploring it. She scratches her nails against Asami’s stomach, experimentally squeezes her breast a few times through her dress, testing the waters. Asami hates that she chose to wear a bra at the last minute today.  
  
Eventually, Korra decides that it’s too hot for a hoodie and awkwardly tugs it over her head, throwing it carelessly over her shoulder for it to land somewhere in the front seat. Asami’s hands instantly go to her exposed stomach, tracing the hardness of it with her fingers, scratching gently. Korra moans into her mouth and something snaps inside of Asami. She cautiously runs her tongue over Korra’s bottom lip and Korra whines, her hands flying to Asami’s hair and clutching desperately.

“Asami, _please_.”

“You want me to put my tongue in your mouth, Korra?” she whispers against her lips. Korra whimpers and bobs her head up and down. Asami loves seeing her like this. How is she supposed to act normal around Korra when she knows she can look like _this_? 

She tenderly prods Korra’s mouth open with her tongue and sighs at the feeling. Korra is so warm, and wet, and she tastes so _good,_ like cinnamon and chocolate. Korra groans and timidly meets Asami’s tongue with her own, unsure of herself. Asami sets a pace but still allows Korra to explore, rubbing her back soothingly, pulling away every now and then to whisper approval and encouragement. 

Asami isn’t sure when, but somewhere in the middle of all this, Korra had started grinding down into her lap, and Asami had unconsciously begun lifting up to meet her. Soon, Korra is panting, her hips moving faster and faster, her fingernails digging into Asami’s shoulders. She moans Asami’s name and without thinking Asami brings her hands around to grip Korra’s ass, helping Korra hump into her.

“Ohhhh _God_ …Asamiii.” Korra cries. Asami leans up to kiss along her neck, her hands still firm on Korra’s backside. She loses herself in the moment and sucks hard on the skin, intent on leaving a hickey. Korra yelps, one hand coming to Asami’s head to keep her in place, the other still digging into Asami’s shoulder, her hips moving wildly now.

“ _Asami_ …’Sami I’m so _close_ …I’m gonna…if we don’t stop, I’m gonna...”

Korra doesn’t finish her statement, but Asami still knows how it was going to end. She wants to see Korra let go, see her go over the edge _so_ _bad_ , but she doesn’t want it to be like this. Not in the backseat of her car in an empty beach parking lot. She knew this would happen if she didn’t stick to her rules, but she did it anyways. What was _wrong_ with her? Asami _never_ had problems following her rules.

Korra must not have wanted it like this either, or else she wouldn’t have warned Asami. Still, she groans when Asami stops her from moving. She gently guides Korra off of her and scoots to the other side of the car, trying to give herself some space to calm down. She can feel Korra glancing at her anxiously from time to time, but her brain is too fried to come up with anything to say. Once her breathing is under control, she climbs to the front seat and Korra follows, putting on her hoodie and buckling her seatbelt. The car ride back is silent as usual, but this time the air is filled with tension. Asami isn’t sure if it’s sexual or nervous, but she feels it, hanging above her head, thick enough to cut with a butter knife. She hears Korra sniffle and turns in surprise, not having realized that Korra had silently started crying.

“Hey.” Asami frowns, reaches over and weaves their fingers together. Korra squeezes her hand gratefully, as if this is what she’d been waiting for since they left the beach.

“I’m so sorry, Asami. I keep telling myself that I’m not gonna push you and then I see you and I lose control; I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Korra, honey nothing’s wrong with you. You didn’t push me, I promise.” Asami reassures her. Korra stares at her for a moment before sighing and looking out the window, her grip on Asami’s hand still strong.

Asami pulls up to the side entrance of the housing block, cutting the engine off and leaning back in her seat. This couldn’t happen anymore. She wasn’t sure what her body was going through to make her so susceptible to give into temptation recently, but enough was enough.

“Korra-”

“I know what you’re going to say.” Korra unhooked her fingers from around Asami’s and placed her hand in her own lap, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. Asami tried to ignore the longing for the warmth of Korra’s hand, instead placing her hand in her own coat pocket.

“You can’t do this anymore. Tonight was the last straw. That’s what I get for being so pushy.” Korra sighed.

“Korra, tonight would’ve been the last night no matter what happened. My livelihood is at stake. My career, my job, my future. I could go to jail, Korra.”

“I know you would be risking a lot to be with me.” Korra blurts out. “I know that we don’t make sense and that you can get in a lot of trouble, and seeing you hurt would hurt me. I understand if you don’t wanna try Asami, and I promise I won’t be upset if you reject me, but Asami, I…I really like you. I like you so much it’s hard to breathe around you most of the time.”

“Korra.” It comes out more like a whimper “You deserve someone who doesn’t have to hide you. Someone who can love you publicly and-”

“Asami, I don’t _care_ about that.” Korra snaps, growing annoyed. “It wouldn’t be like this forever, stop…” She groans and shuts her eyes, collecting herself. Asami stays silent, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest.

“Just…just take the break to think about it, okay? I won’t text you or call you to try to persuade you to be with me. I’ll let you come to a decision on your own. But Asami, I can’t see myself with anyone but you. If you want me…I’m yours. I’m already yours.” With that, she gets out of the car and starts walking toward the building.

Asami watches as she bounces up the stairs and goes into the housing block, sighing once the doors closed behind her and leaning back against the headrest. The weight of the situation falls on her suddenly and she reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update until next weekend! I hope you guys had a good Thanksgiving!! Or relaxed a lil bit if you don't celebrate the holiday. Sending my love! <3


	18. Headaches-Raveena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra gives Asami some space, while Asami finally accepts how she feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~There's no sunset without you~

~Korra~

Korra gazed at her neck in fascination, running her fingers along the bruise that had formed there overnight. It had all felt too good to be true, and Korra woke up this morning sure she had dreamt up the entire week, but the proof was right there. Staring back at her in the mirror, red and purple and black and so visible, so _proud_. She could almost hear it speaking to her, congratulating her.

_‘Asami gave this to you. Asami kissed you. Asami wants you.’_

She grinned and then quickly got to work, using some of Kya’s foundation to try and cover it up. Kya’s mom would be picking them up and then dropping Korra off at the airport, so she had about forty minutes to cover up this hickey and then finish packing. She had briefly debated whether or not she should wear a turtleneck but decided against it; she hated how constricted it made her feel and also never wore turtlenecks, so that might make her look even more suspicious. Kya’s foundation would have to do.

“Korra, my mom’s eta is 30 minutes now. Hurry up!”

“I’m almost done.” Korra yelled back. She leaned into the mirror, trying to smudge a few finishing touches around the blemish, smiling when she was satisfied with the results. She gave herself a few spritz of perfume, swooped her hair into a high ponytail and then waltzed out of the bathroom, brushing lightly pass Kya on her way out.

She could feel Kya’s quizzical gaze on her back, but she did her best to ignore it. Against all odds, Korra had somehow been able to keep her and Asami’s activities to herself all week. She had been dying to tell Kya about it, but still wanted to respect Asami’s privacy, seeing that she could get in a lot of trouble for this if they were ever caught. Still, Kya was smart, and she could tell that something was up. Korra was honestly surprised that she hadn’t pressed her about it.

“I can’t believe you lied to me about your birthday.” Kya mumbled, and Korra heard her fumbling with the zippers on her suitcase, struggling to get it closed. Korra laughed and went over to sit on the overpacked luggage, helping Kya get the zipper around.

“I didn’t know you enough yet. What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey guys, the reason I’m a year older is cuz I almost killed myself last year and had to be held back a grade. Nice to meet you too’?”

Kya grimaced but then sighed. “You got me there.” She grunted as she finally went around the suitcase with the zipper, pushing Korra away to lift it off the floor.

“Besides,” Korra dusted the backside of her pants off, “You lied to me about Lin. _And_ about being 100% straight. If anything, I think you might be 100% _not straight._ ” She smirked.

Kya raised her eyebrow. “Huh…yea, I might be. But you lied to me about being straight too. You’re also gonna lie to me about that hickey on your neck, but I’ll go ahead and forgive you now, just to get it over with.”

Korra flew to the vanity mirror over her desk, her hand coming up to inspect the spot where the hickey had been covered. It looked normal, just like her regular skin. How had Kya been able to see it?! Behind her, Kya cackled and let out a triumphant _‘aha’._

“I fuckin _knew_ it! I knew it!” Kya clapped her hands together and grinned.

“How did you know?” Korra started panicking. If she was that obvious about it, who else might know?

“Well, I didn’t, but you just confirmed it dumbass. I saw it starting to form last night at dinner. Plus, you looked flustered when you first walked into the room; headed straight to the bathroom and stayed there for a good twenty minutes. _God_ , you’re such a bad liar.” Kya rolled her eyes.

“Kya, you can’t say anything about this.” Korra begged.

“So that confirms it’s not from Kuzon.” _Shit._ Why didn’t she think about that? She totally could’ve played it off and acted like it was from him.

“How do you know it isn’t?” Korra tried to save herself, but Kya wasn’t having it.

She arched an eyebrow. “Bitch…I _know_ that’s not from Kuzon.”

“ _Okay_ , it’s not from Kuzon.” Korra grumbled.

“Is that…” Kya paused, as if trying to sort out what she was going to say before she said it. “Is that why you’ve been super happy all week?”

Korra shrugged but she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “Yeah.”

“So…have you guys been like…having sex?” Korra quickly shook her head.

“No! No, not sex, just…just like making out…and stuff.” Korra blushed, thinking back to last night. How Asami felt under her, whispering into her neck, her grip tight on Korra’s ass, trying to help her orgasm…

“And stuff?” Kya asked, snapping Korra back to the present.

“Yea…”

“And who initiated…these meetings?”

“Huh?”

“When you guys would go make out. Who would initiate it? You or Miss Sato?”

“Umm…mostly me, I guess? There was one time where she…” Korra thinks to the single instance where Asami had dragged her to the car instead of it being the other way around, which is the first time they had made out. Other times throughout the week, Asami was the one to pull Korra to the car, but she’s not sure it counts since she would brush up against Asami for an entire hour, blow hot air into her ear, do subtle things to rile her up until Asami finally snapped.

“But it’s been mostly you?” Korra nodded her head yes.

“Korra…” It came more like a breath, and Kya sounded almost… _disappointed_. Oh great, what had she done now?

“What?”

“You don’t see the problem here? The pattern? You don’t see where I’m going with this?” Kya said, frustrated.

“Uhhh…no?”

“Korra you can’t keep throwing yourself at her.”

“ _What?_ ” Korra sputtered. “I’m not…I’m not _throwing_ myself at her! She wants me too. She… She…” Korra suddenly remembered last night’s conversation. How scared and reluctant Asami had seemed at the idea of a relationship with her, of being with her. It was for a good reason, of course, but Asami hadn’t even stopped to consider any alternatives. Maybe she could wait until Korra graduated. Or if age was the problem, wait until Korra turned eighteen. There were many different ways, at least in Korra’s mind, that they could make the relationship work, but Asami hadn’t brought up any of them. Maybe she…maybe she really didn’t want Korra. On top of that, Korra _had_ been the one begging Asami to kiss her all week…

“Oh God… _Oh God_.” Korra covered her mouth with her hand and sunk down to the floor, shame and embarrassment sizzling their way through her body, burning her throat and making her stomach churn. The realization that she had misread the situation yet again was almost too much to bear. She was so sure, _so sure_ , that Asami felt the same way about her, just to be wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, _wrong._

Kya knelt down beside her and wrapped Korra up into a strong embrace. 

“ _Jesus_ , okay Korra calm down. You’re so dramatic. Hey, look at me. Stop crying.”

Kya brought her hand up to Korra’s face, wiping away tears Korra didn’t even realize she had started shedding.

“This isn’t the end of the world, you drama Queen. And I’m not saying Miss Sato doesn’t like you. Just that you haven’t really given her a chance to think about it. It’s kinda hard to think clearly when someone keeps trying to shove their tongue down your throat.” Kya rolled her eyes and let Korra go, crossing her arms.

“Listen… _ugh_ I _hate_ talking about this, so pay attention. When me and Lin…”

Korra perked up immediately, hugging her knees to her chest and training her gaze on Kya. Kya was extremely secretive about everything that happened with Lin, randomly dropping bits and pieces, but not enough to piece the entire story together. Any crumb Kya dropped about what happened, Korra would eagerly accept it.

Kya sighs before continuing. “When I found out Lin liked me back, I kinda…threw myself at her too. I was just really excited, and she was the first girl I ever had feelings for, and I couldn’t think or see outside my own box.” Kya grimaced. “I was always confused when she would reject me. I thought that…I thought if two people liked each other, it obviously means that they should start dating.”

“Well, shouldn’t they?” Korra blurted out, and then blushed when Kya shot her a look, as if to say ‘Don’t interrupt me. Also, you’re a dumbass.’

“No, Korra. Life doesn’t always work out perfectly like that.” Kya squeezes her arm reassuringly. “Sometimes…sometimes you have to give the other person space to come to a decision on their own. Lin didn’t come from an open, loving background like me, so she was scared about liking me. Her parents…” Kya frowned and then shook her head, deciding not to finish that statement.

“Miss Sato has a lot to lose if this was to ever get out, Korra. She could lose her job, go to jail. She could even be registered as a sex offender, which would basically…ruin her entire life. Korra that’s an incredible amount of stress to be under, to have to think about every time she’s with you.”

“But she…she kissed me, Kya. I thought…” Korra didn’t know what she thought anymore. Everything was all muddled and murky, when just last night, just a few minutes ago, things had seemed so clear and simple.

“Yea, no she’s a dumbass for that.” Kya laughed. “But she’s human. And humans make mistakes, unfortunately. Look, just…let her come to you. Both for her sake and yours. Let her make a choice. And if she doesn’t choose you, seeing she has a _really_ good reason not to, Korra you’re gonna have to be okay with that. Because you’re _going_ to be okay, regardless. Don’t be the kind of person that needs to be in a relationship in order to be happy. And never, _ever_ beg someone to be with you.” Kya stated sternly.

Korra groaned. She hated when Kya pulled out her therapist brain and actually offered her good advice.

“Okay _fine._ What am I supposed to do then? Until she makes a choice?”

“Bitch, I don’t know. Have fun? Start hanging out with us again?! Live your life?! We miss you!” Kya punched her in the arm and scurried out of Korra’s reach before she could retaliate.

“But right now,” Kya giggled. “You need to hurry up and finish packing your shit cuz my mom’s almost here.”

Twenty minutes later, Korra followed Kya down the stairs, hauling her suitcase awkwardly behind her. Once she finally made it to the bottom, she unconsciously twisted her head in the direction of Asami’s room down the other end of the hall, willing the door to open. Should she say goodbye? She really wanted to say goodbye, at least. But she didn’t trust herself to not say anything that might sway Asami’s decision. Kya had made a really good point earlier; Asami should be the one to come to her, if she even wanted to.

“Hey.”

Korra turned back around, smiling when she saw Kya holding out her hand for Korra to hold onto. Kya slipped their fingers together and then tugged Korra towards the exit.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, Korra. I promise. All in due time.”

“All in due time.” Korra repeated, nodding her head to punctuate the sentence.

All in due time.

* * *

~Asami~

The flashing, neon red “Narook’s Noodles” sign hung menacingly over Asami’s head, taunting her, daring her to come inside the restaurant and face her fears. She shut her eyes and swallowed past the lump in her throat. She could do this; She was her mother’s child. Strong, brave, resilient. She could do this.

Asami swung the door open and strode through, smiling graciously at the host, who had looked rather bored until he saw that he was being approached by a potential customer. He switched on his professional demeanor almost instantly, shooting her a charming smile. Asami almost had a mind to compliment him on his ability to throw on a façade that quickly; it was something she was extremely well-versed in.

“Hi. I have someone waiting for me. It should be under the name Sato?”

The host quickly scanned over his list of tables, nodding when he finally spotted the name.

“Ah, here you are. Mr. Sato has a spot in the VIP section, in a private booth for two. Right this way, Miss.” 

She followed the host to the back of the restaurant, trying to focus on the steady _‘click’_ of her heels against the hardwood floor instead of the anxiety and nervousness she felt creeping up along her back, wrapping slender, grimy fingers around her throat. She was late to this meeting on purpose, a power move that she had learned from her father, but now, she was starting to regret her decision. What if he was already pissed off and her tardiness would only make him harsher? She silently cursed herself for trying to beat him at his own game.

They finally arrived at the booth and Asami slid in gracefully, thanking the host for guiding her and asking for a glass of water. She had no plans to stay around and actually eat, and she was sure Hiroshi didn’t either. She slid her gloves and sunglasses off, unwrapped her scarf from around her neck and placed them at her side delicately. Just as she predicted, Hiroshi looked absolutely livid about her being late, but she didn’t care. At least…she was trying to _act_ as if she didn’t care. She sat up straight, folded her arms over her chest and waited for him to speak, holding his gaze. Asami is surprised at how easy it is for her to not look away right now, even if she feels like she’s dying on the inside. For the first time in her life, she realizes that she might not actually need Hiroshi like she always thought she did. She had a job, a steady income, and a good support system. No matter what he would do to try to control her, she was finally free, and she would be okay. She might have to put on a show for now, but one day it wouldn’t be an act; one day she really wouldn’t fear the consequences of her father’s anger and disappointment.

Her act must have been rather convincing, for Hiroshi eventually sighed and shook his head.

“So headstrong and stubborn. Just like your mother.” He mutters, almost fondly. Asami is momentarily startled; it’s the first time he’s ever mentioned her mother since her passing. For a second, he’s her dad again. The Hiroshi she grew up with before Yasuko was torn from both of their lives. The man who taught her how to ride a bike, how to fix a flat tire, cuddled her after a nightmare, snuck her and Suki second helpings of egg custard tarts after her mother had told them no.

He looks back up at her and Asami is taken aback by how much older he looks. When did he get so many grey hairs? She barely suppresses the urge to reach across the table and take his hands into her own, begging him to go back to being the father he used to be. The moment is shattered, however, as soon as he starts talking.

“Asami, why are you behaving this way? Why are you being so rebellious?”

Just like that, Asami is filled with anger again, annoyed with his audacity.

“If me being rebellious means no longer allowing you to damn near prostitute me for business deals, then so be it.” She spits out, rage barely contained.

His features twist up. “What the _hell_ are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Asami Sato-”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Dad.”

“I’m not acting like anything; I genuinely have no idea-”

Asami scoffed. He had to be kidding. There’s no way he didn’t notice the leering stares, the gropes, the unnecessary touching that almost all of his business partners were guilty of giving her.

“You never had any intentions of passing the business on to me. You just needed a pretty face to attract investors. I didn’t even _want_ to run the business, but for you to _use_ me…” Asami struggles to keep her tears at bay, but she can’t keep the emotion out of her voice. “You let them assault me, ignored all the demeaning looks, the creepy jokes. I was just a piece of meat, to them, to you.”

“You stop saying things like that right this instant! Right now!” Hiroshi glares at her.

Asami gets up suddenly and gathers her things, not wanting to stay and finish this conversation. It wasn’t going anywhere; she could see that now. Better to just leave before she broke down crying in the middle of the restaurant.

“I’m going home. What’s the point of talking to you if you’re not going to listen to me?”

He grabbed her arm before she could get away from the table. Asami hadn’t even seen him stand up. “You remember,” he whispered into her ear, his voice sending cold, thin shards of ice piercing through her heart. “who’s responsible for the home that you can run back to after being defiant with me. You remember who has gotten you everything you have so far. If you leave now, if you walk out that door, don’t expect any more help from me.”

She rips herself from his hold and shoots him the angriest, most blood-curling stare she could muster. “ _Fuck you_.” She whispered, a tear falling down her face as she finally realized just where her and her Father now stood.

Asami never thought it would get this far; had always believed that he would go back to being the loving, nurturing man he was when she was a child. She just had to be patient, let him grieve, let him heal. She sees now that that would never happen. That Hiroshi was gone, lost to the pain and sorrow caused by her mom’s passing. The current man was merely a shell of the former, now haunted by the ghost of his wife and forced to remember her absence every time he looked at his daughter. Asami whirls around and walks as gracefully as she can towards the exit, allowing the tears to fall freely now that her back was turned, mourning the death of another parent.

* * *

Asami sat in her living room with June and Suki, after having invited them over to surround herself with love and warmth after her chilly affair with Hiroshi earlier. They were surrounded by alcohol, popcorn, and pizza, the tv playing softly in the background.

“Whoooaa slow down. Easy there, Tiger.” June chuckled, gently pulling away the half-empty quart of rum that Asami had been nesting for the past ten minutes. Asami shoots her a fake glare and simply reaches past June to grab the full bottle of wine that was on the end table, throwing her head back and taking a huge gulp. Suki laughs and snatches the rum from June to take a sip herself, making a face as the fiery liquid goes down her throat.

“Honestly, what’s gotten into you two today.” June looks at them both with an amused expression on her face.

Asami and Suki glance at each other briefly before erupting into laughter, with Asami almost falling off the couch after losing her balance.

“Suki, you go first.”

“No ‘Sami, you. Mine’s is so boring, you go first.”

“Ugh okay fine,” Asami took a deep breath dramatically. “I told Dad…to fuck off.” She laughs manically before she can even finish the sentence and Suki joins her.

“And then,” Suki hiccups, “Then he called me right after to complain and ask me to talk some sense into her and I told him she was _right_ , and then I hung up. Thirty minutes later, I got a phone call from Sokka telling me they had decided to ‘let him go’ from the project that his job had him working on. The same project sponsored by and paid for by _Dad_!” Asami and Suki both exploded again, and this time, they actually did fall off the couch.

“Wow.” June sounds concerned, but it falls on deaf ears; Suki and Asami are too busy trying to climb over each other to get back on the couch, breaking out into fits of giggles every time they almost get back on. June sighs and helps them settle back down beside her.

“Are you guys gonna be okay?”

“Oh, I’ll be fiiiiine.” Suki chirps. “Sokka still has his job, he’s just a bit miffed at being kicked off the project for no reason. He offered some really good ideas too, was really gonna ‘change the way we design air balloons’, or some shit like that, but whatever.” Suki shrugs.

June turns to Asami. “And you? How are you holdin’ up?”

“Pssssshh. I’ll be fine too! I still have my job at Omashu. Well…” Asami purses her lips. “I guess as long as they don’t find out I’ve been making out with Korra, I should be fine!” Asami grins and takes another chug from the wine bottle.

There’s a brief silence as everyone pauses to fully take in what Asami had just said. Somewhere, deep in the corners of her drunk mind, Asami is screaming at her stupidity for her unnecessary confession, but the effect of the alcohol is cutting off her ability to be logical. June stares at her wide-eyed and Suki lets out an excited squeal, grabbing Asami’s hands.

“Making out?! _Making out?!_ Who’s Korra?!”

“Just someone Asami met and almost hooked up with at the club.” June answers for Asami and shoots her a pointed stare. Asami’s mouth feels incredibly dry all of a sudden, the realization of what she had just confessed (and more importantly, _who_ she had confessed it to) starting to set in. She put down the bottle of wine and looked around for some water instead, sobriety starting to trickle in.

“Asami, you didn’t tell me you were seeing someone!” Suki pouts.

“I’m not.” Asami said quickly. “It was just a…just a one-time thing; it won’t happen again.” She glances at June after saying the last part.

“Well, you still gotta tell me all about it ‘Sami.” Suki frowns. “You always tell me about your relationships and hook-ups, and everything in between. Why haven’t you mentioned this one?” She gasps and understanding floods her face. Asami panics, although she knows it’s no way for Suki to know Korra is her student. There’s no way, yet the fear is still there.

“Is it cuz Korra’s a girl? She’s a girl, right? ‘Sami, you have to tell me ever-”

By some miracle, Suki’s phone rings and she stops her interrogation to answer it, excusing herself once she realizes it’s Sokka on the other end. Asami lets out a breath but then tenses back up once she realizes that June is still there and has been staring at her intently.

“So, you’ve been making out with Korra?”

Asami sighs. “It’s not like that, June.”

“So, what’s it like then? Enlighten me.” She leans forward, placing her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands under her chin.

“I…I’m not going to pursue a relationship with her. I’ve made my decision.”

“But you’ve been making out with her.”

“It was a mistake.”

“You seem to be making a lot of those lately.” Asami glares at her but June doesn’t flinch. If anything, she holds Asami’s gaze, challenging her.

“What are you doing, Asami?”

“I’m trying to do the right thing.”

“By making out with her.”

“June, _please._ I don’t need to be lectured about this.” She eyes the doorway to the kitchen anxiously. “Especially not right _now_.”

“You need to make a decision.” June sits back and folds her arm. “Again, I’m not encouraging you to go and fuck your student.” Asami shoots her a warning look and signals for June to keep her voice down. June rolls her eyes.

“I’m not saying to fuck your student.” She repeats, whispering harshly. “But for the love of God, make a damn choice. Stop stringing her along and then pushing her away whenever you start getting scared. Can you imagine how fucking exhausting that must be for her? Make a damn decision and stick to it. And make it quick; it’s only a matter of time before Suki finds out who she is, thanks to you and your big ass mouth.”

She stops talking once Suki walks back through the door, but Asami got her message loud and clear.

Thankfully, Suki seemed to have forgotten about Asami’s confession, and they spend the rest of the night talking amicably and laughing at ridiculous rom coms on tv. Before June leaves, Asami pulls her to the side to let her know that she had, in fact, already made a decision.

“I’m not going to pursue anything with her, June. I’ve made up my mind.”

June snorts. “Yea, okay Asami. Like I haven’t heard this before.”

“I really have! Nothing’s ever gonna happen between us. _Nothing_.”

“You know, you could just wait until she graduates-”

“June!”

“Or just until she turns eighteen, which is in what, like less than a month?”

“Stop it!”

“Just know that whatever happens, I’m here for you. Whatever you decide. Even if it involves fucking a teenager that you keep _promising_ me you’re never gonna fuck.” June rolls her eyes.

“Get out of my house.” Asami huffs.

“Bye Asamiiii. I’ll see you later.” June sings before waltzing out the front door. Asami slams the door shut and then leans against it, taking a deep breath. She had made her decision, and she would stick to it. Even if only to prove June wrong, she would stick to it. She goes to bed with a heavy heart, dreading the conversation she knew she would have to have with Korra when she came back from winter break. Her only hope was that Korra would understand and wouldn’t take the rejection as badly as she did the first time.

_‘If you had even an ounce of self-control you wouldn’t have to be doing this at all.’_ She thinks bitterly. Oh well, the past is in the past. Now, she would just have to focus on moving forward.

Asami spends the next couple of weeks burying herself in various physical activities, trying to accept the fact that her and Korra would never happen. She goes on runs, she does hot yoga, she meditates, she reconnects with her personal trainer and schedules workouts for the next six months. She participates in a weeklong apple cider vinegar cleanse right after Christmas, figuring maybe she needed to flush her system in order to rid her mind of Korra. None of it works. Korra is the first thought in her mind in the morning and the last thought in her mind before she falls asleep. Asami brings in the New Year drunk and alone, after ignoring calls from June and Suki pestering her about going out with them.

On Korra’s birthday, she spends an embarrassing amount of time just staring at her phone, debating whether or not she should call and say happy birthday. She picks up her phone and scrolls to Korra’s contact, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. Texting her might send the wrong message. But not texting her would be rude, wouldn’t it? She still wants to be her friend, and friends’ text each other happy birthday. It didn’t have to be weird. But Korra might not take it that way, and since Asami hadn’t given her a decision yet, she might take that text as an answer and it would be ten times harder to officially snip this in the bud when they got back to school, and now Asami was pissed off at how even thinking about texting Korra had sent her spiraling down a black hole of doubt. She angrily threw her phone down and rushed upstairs to put on her running gear, figuring it’d be hard to think about anything (but especially Korra) if she was exhausted and too focused on breathing instead.

The run helped a bit, and she showered afterwards, then spent the rest of the day lounging around the house and grading papers. Asami went to bed that night somehow exhausted but restless, sleep refusing to come and give her peace. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was only nine thirty, a couple hours earlier than her usual bedtime. She groaned in frustration and decided to go ahead and just get up since she couldn’t fall asleep anyways. Maybe she could watch old reruns on TV until she fell asleep on the couch. Or maybe she could read; She hadn’t read a book in a while and her copy of “The Sun also Rises” had been sitting untouched for months now. Now would be as good a time as any to pick it back up again.

She fumbles around for her reading glasses and then pulls the drawer open, blindly reaching for the book. Her hands land on a familiar post it note instead, and suddenly Asami is hit with an entirely new idea.

It’s reckless and stupid and irresponsible, but _God_ , she’s at the end of her rope by now. She hasn’t gone a single day without Korra on her mind since they kissed in the forest behind her house, and she’s _tired_ of it. Korra is everywhere, so close and yet completely unattainable. Maybe she _needs_ her brains fucked out in order to forget or let go, or at least _begin_ to let go. Nothing else has worked so far; maybe this would.

If she texts the woman right now, there wouldn’t be any doubt what Asami’s intentions were. She wouldn’t be able to guise it as wanting to get to know the woman better or just hanging out. But Asami found that she didn’t really care all that much. Besides, the woman had made her intentions clear that night too; they both wanted the same thing. She bit her bottom lip as she fumbled around the bed for her phone and put the number in to send a text.

** ??? **

Hey, it’s the girl from the club the other night. The one at the bar?? Ik it’s super late, but would you maybe wanna come over and…hang out? I have wine :)

* * *

“Hey Summer. Long time no see.” Impostor Korra grins at her seductively and Asami is momentarily taken aback until she remembers the fake name she had given that night.

“Hey…” Asami panics when she realizes that she doesn’t remember the woman’s name, had never actually gotten her name and now it was too late to ask without it feeling awkward. They were literally about to have sex for God’s sake. Luckily for Asami, the woman either doesn’t notice or chooses to ignore Asami not calling her by her name, but instead brushes past her and strides into the house, letting out a long whistle as she took in the interior.

“You got all this to yourself?” She asks, her voice smooth and deep. It’s sexy, or at least Asami is sure she _would_ find it sexy, if she could stop comparing it to Korra’s.

“Yea…it’s all mine.” She’s never done this before, so she’s not exactly sure what the steps are. Do they make idle chit chat until they somehow land on the reason she’s actually here or do they get straight to it?

“So, no roommates?”

“Unh unh. No roommates. Just me.”

“So, I can fuck you anywhere in the house without any problems?” She says it so casually that Asami is thrown off guard, not sure how to respond.

“H-huh?” She stutters. The woman laughs and slowly edges her way over to Asami, who had been standing in front of the door since her entrance. She gently pushes Asami against the door and places both hands on either side of Asami’s head, towering over her. Asami didn’t realize how much taller than her the other woman was. She leans forward to whisper in Asami’s ear.

“I said, if I was to pull those cute little pajama shorts down, and fuck you right here in the foyer, would that be a problem?” She nips Asami’s earlobe to punctuate her sentence and Asami reels as the memory of Korra doing the _exact_ same thing flashes through her mind.

“Don’t do that.” She snarls, a little harsher than she meant to, but the woman isn’t offended by it.

“You don’t like that?”

_Not when you do it._

“No.”

“Tell me what you like then, baby. I wanna make you feel good.” Korra had said those exact same words the first night they… _DAMN IT._

“Just kiss me. Kiss me.” Asami didn’t wait for the woman to reply. She roughly tugged her down into a passionate kiss, trying to block out all thoughts about Korra. The woman eagerly responded, wrapping her arms around Asami’s waist and prodding Asami’s mouth open with her tongue. She tasted like apples and grapefruit, the latter being Asami’s least favorite fruit, and she can’t help but compare the taste to Korra’s. She can’t help but compare the feeling to Korra. Kissing Korra made her breathless and excited, whereas she felt nothing with this woman. She tried to give herself time to feel something, but the longer they spent kissing, the more Asami compared and the more frustrated she grew. She ripped away from the woman and began unbuttoning her pajama top, desperate to get Korra out of her head.

The woman grinned and started helping her, palming Asami’s bare breasts with her warm, calloused hands once the shirt finally fell off. Asami can’t help but think that it should feel better than this, when you actually want it. It shouldn’t still feel like a chore. The woman leans down to suck one of Asami’s nipples into her mouth and Asami finally feels a hint of something. She takes it and runs with it, pushing the woman towards the living room.

“No bedroom?” The woman chuckles against her chest. Asami shakes her head.

“Too far. Living room fine.” Asami rasped.

They finally get to the living room and plop down onto the couch, with Asami hurriedly straddling the woman, eager to regain the small amount of feeling she had when her breasts were being sucked. She presses her chest against the woman’s face, encouraging her to go back to what she was doing, eager to feel something again. 

“Whoa whoa whoa there, slow down. All in due time.” The woman chuckles, pushing Asami away slightly, but still keeping her close. Asami exhales, slightly annoyed.

“I don’t wanna slow down. I want you to fuck me.”

“You sure it’s me you wanna fuck right now?”

This makes Asami pause. “What?”

“This isn’t my first time around the rodeo, babe. Plus, you’re a pretty open book. You’re running from someone.” Asami is silent for a moment, angry at the woman for killing the mood but that anger eventually gives way to embarrassment. She slides off the woman and grabs a pillow off the couch to cover herself.

“I’m sorry…I’ve just never done this before.”

“Hey don’t apologize. I get it.” The woman splays her arms over the couch and then leans back, looking at Asami curiously. “Is it the woman you said I reminded you of?”

Asami looked at her, surprised. She didn’t remember telling her that.

She nods her head yes. “I talk too much.” She mumbles.

The woman laughs good naturedly. “Nah, I just have that effect on people. I’m easy to talk to.” She places a hand on Asami’s knee reassuringly. “I know I don’t know you or your situation, but…I think unless you absolutely _can’t_ for some reason, maybe you should just go for it. Instead of trying to avoid the issue by hooking up with random strangers. I’m assuming it’s relationship problems, right?”

Asami shrugs. “Yea…something like that.” 

“And is there a reason you can’t be with that person?”

Laws, morals, her job, her livelihood, the other person is still a teenager and eight years her junior, oh and also, it’s her _student_.

“Um…it’s complicated?”

“Life is complicated.” The woman laughs. “Hey, I’m still down to fuck in the future if you want, but I require all my partners to have a clear mind beforehand. I got a reputation to uphold; Can’t have anyone regretting sleeping with me.” She stands up to adjust her clothes and run her fingers through her hair.

“I’ll see myself out. You take care, Summer. Don’t hesitate to call if things end up not working out with whomever.” Asami nods her head and smiles. She waits til she hears the front door close and then gets up to look around for her pajama shirt. She heads back upstairs to try and sleep again, grateful when she finally dozes off and slips into her dreams.

* * *

Asami isn’t really too sure when she wakes up and falls back asleep the next day. It’s all a blurry haze and she purposely avoids looking at the clock, allowing her mind to be consumed with thoughts of Korra. Would this be the rest of her life? Day in and day out, would she simply obsess over her until she went crazy or shriveled up and died? There seemed to be nothing she could do to get over this. She had quite literally tried everything; She had perused countless numbers of websites and many a WikiHow page in her attempt to search for the remedy to her affliction. She felt like a silly teenager, googling ‘How to get over someone’, but she had no other options. Asami had _never_ experienced longing to this degree, this ache to be with someone that she could never be with. It’s selfish to wish that Korra was older, to want to take away years from her youth just so that Asami could be with her guilt-free.

_‘Drive. I need to drive, to clear my head. That might work.’_

It’s about the only thing that she hasn’t done so far; it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Asami throws her hair into a messy top bun and puts on some sweats, a hoodie and her running shoes. She grabs her purse from the coffee table and then climbs into her car, turning the key in the ignition and absentmindedly reversing out of her driveway. She doesn’t have a destination in mind yet, but that doesn’t matter. She would just drive until her mind took her where it wanted to go.

And _of course_ , her mind would steer her to the secret spot that she had discovered on a hike. The once sacred spot where she would go to get some peace of mind, now tainted with the memory of Korra. She puts the car in park and sits for a minute, thinking. She was already here; what was the harm in just going. The hidden wonderland had always had a serene, magical quality to it. Maybe she would find some answers in the waterfall there. If nothing else, she could at least watch the sun set.

She trudges through the woods until she gets to the tell-tale vines and brushes them aside, relieved to find that no one is there. She walks over to the fountain and watches the fish chase each other in the water for a while, then makes her way to the cliff, settling down to watch the sun sink into the ocean.

It’s beautiful, the hues of orange, pink, and blue meshing together; the way the water sparkles in the last rays of sunlight. The wind feels delicious, caressing her face and blowing through her hair, and although it’s the middle of winter, this is one of those California days where the weather is perfect outside, not too hot, not too cold. It almost feels like a summer night. Korra would love this.

And suddenly Asami was crying. She silently allows the tears to fall down her face as she mourns the loss of a relationship that never even got a chance to blossom. This had to be some cruel, cosmic joke. The first person in her life that she had _ever_ felt this deeply about was her fucking student. So close, but impossible to have. And to top it all off, the person _actually_ wanted her back. All of Asami’s relationships were either one-sided, with her putting in all the effort, or fake, just fake. People only wanted her for one thing, and that was what she could give them. Money, connections, power, or a combination of the three. It’s the reason she hated telling people who she was, but Korra hadn’t treated her any different. Korra _wanted_ her. Really actually wanted her for who she was as a person, not for what Asami could do for her, and she couldn’t have her. _Asami couldn’t have her_.

She lifted her head up suddenly and narrowed her eyes. _Fuck this._ Her whole life, her whole entire _fucking_ life, she had played by everyone else’s rules, so much so that the line blurred between what she wanted and what everyone else told her she wanted. And where did it get her? Her mother was dead, her father damn near disowned her. What did she honestly have left to lose? She trusted Korra enough to keep their relationship a secret. She wanted Korra. For the first time in her life, she wanted someone so bad that she ached for them. Forget the consequences and the risks; Korra was worth it.

A burst of energy shot through her, and she stood and stretched to get the tension out of her shoulders, smiling. God, it felt so _good_ to finally choose what made her happy. She really didn’t want to wait a week until the break was over to let Korra know her decision.

_‘Why don’t you just drive down to LA and tell her now?’_

The thought randomly popped into Asami’s head and stuck like glue, refusing to budge. It was irrational, of course, to drive eight hours to go tell your student that you wanted to be with them. There was a logical part of Asami’s brain that knew this was a bad idea, probably the worst idea she had ever come up with, but she was too ecstatic to think clearly. She looked at her watch and was surprised to see that a couple hours had passed since the sun had set, and it was now seven. If she left now, she would get to Korra’s house around three in the morning. Rational Asami knew that three am was absolutely _not_ a good time to go to anyone’s house, but especially her student’s house; Love-struck Asami thought this all seemed perfectly reasonable.

Four hours later and halfway to Korra’s house is when the logical part of her brain finally kicks in. This was ridiculous. Jesus Christ, what was she _doing_? She couldn’t date her student. Her job was the only thing she had left to support her; she would be a fool to jeopardize that. If anyone found out about her and Korra, Asami’s life would be ruined. And to show up unannounced at three in the morning? What if Tonraq was there when Asami drove up? What excuse could she reasonably offer that would justify a visit at three in the fucking morning? She gets off at the nearest exit and starts making her way back to her house, desperately trying to ignore the ache in her chest. She had to be stronger about this. 

Except she didn’t _want_ to be strong about this. Damn it, she just wanted Korra. Why did this have to be so difficult? For once in her life, could she just have something she wanted, without having to think about the consequences?

After about an hour of driving back, Asami exits the freeway again and turns around to head towards Korra’s house, the ache in her chest too strong to ignore.

She does this multiple times, getting on and off the freeway, constantly fighting herself over what she should do. Twelve hours and three gas station trips later, Asami finally pulls up in front of Korra’s house around eight in the morning, both mentally and physically exhausted. Her eyes are red and puffy with bags underneath them and her hair is a mess. She’s so anxious, her fingers are shaking uncontrollably. She can’t believe she actually drove all the way down to LA. What if Korra rejects her? What if…what if her Dad answers the door and asks why his daughter’s teacher drove eight hours to LA to see her? Asami glanced at the driveway and let out a sigh of relief when she sees that no other cars are there, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here…

She hops out of the car before she can change her mind, putting her sunglasses on and marching towards the front door. She was already here, damn it, she refused to turn back now. Of course, she has second thoughts as soon as she rings the doorbell. The fear of Korra’s dad answering instead of Korra was still prominent and she scrambled to think of logical reasons for her to actually be here, freaking out when she couldn’t come up with any. Another nagging thought was the fear that Korra might flat out reject her. A lot could change in three weeks. What if Korra moved on and decided to be with Kuzon, someone who clearly wanted her and would be safe to date? What if she was mad at Asami for leading her on multiple times just to break her heart, over and over again? What if-

The door swings open and Asami’s mind goes blank. Standing in front of her is the very subject of her rejection scenarios, the girl that haunted her every waking hour and controlled her dreams at night. She’s wearing light blue, fuzzy, polar bear dog pajama pants with slippers to match, and a black tank top. Her hair falls around her shoulders, ruffled from sleep. She’s so beautiful, so precious. It takes all of Asami’s will power to not pull her into a passionate kiss. Instead, she smiles shyly as Korra takes a second to wipe the crust from her eyes, blinking a few times to clear her vision.

She squints and looks Asami up and down, as if she can’t believe that she’s actually there.

“Asami?” she says, uncertainly.

Asami lets out the breath she’s been holding since she rung the doorbell.

“Hi Korra.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to reply to the comments on the last chapter SO BAD, but I knew that I was probably gonna try to defend Asami and I wanted the story itself to do that, not me. She ain’t perfect but she is trying to do the right thing! Hopefully this chapter somewhat makes up for her behavior hahaha.  
> The next 5 or so chapters are definitely going to be so fun for me to write omfg. No angst, no pining. Just vibes *inserts emoji with sunglasses on*


	19. Champagne Coast-Blood Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First date! YAY!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Come into my bedroom~

~Korra~

Korra remains frozen in the doorway, squinting at the figure that stood before her; the one who appeared to be Asami, but couldn’t possibly be Asami. She had to be dreaming. That was the only logical explanation for this, for Asami showing up to her house, decked out in sweats, sunglasses, and a hoodie and looking… _shy_? Oh, this for sure had to be a dream. Although it’s nothing like her usual sex-centered dreams, she has to give this one credit for how vivid it is. It’s almost as if she could reach out and touch Asami and actually maybe come into contact with something. She’s tempted to do so, but a small part of her brain warns her against it, on the off chance that she might _not_ be dreaming and Asami Sato is really, actually, _truly_ standing at her front door, waiting to be let in. Oh, crap, she’s waiting to be let in!

Asami clears her throat before Korra could break out of her trance and remember her manners.

“Um…may I come in?”

“Of course!” Korra sputters, almost unintelligibly, swinging the door open and stepping aside to let Asami into the house. This is starting to feel less and less like a dream. Maybe she’s been sucked into an alternate reality, like in that one Spiderman movie. Maybe she’s the next Spiderman-woman-girl-person? Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Korra Waters. That had a nice flow to it. Maybe in this reality, Asami Sato is her MJ and has finally come to confess her love.

She shuts the door silently and then leans back against it, watching Asami carefully as she takes in the interior of Korra’s house, thanking God that her Dad straightened up after their festivities last night. Asami takes off her sunglasses and Korra is struck by how exhausted she looked, almost as if she hadn’t slept for days. But it was weird, because at the same time she looked… _lighter_. As if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. And she was here…in Korra’s house…so that could only mean one thing, right? Or it could mean something else…but she wouldn’t have driven all the way down here just to tell Korra she didn’t want to try to work things out, would she? Wait, did she spend all night driving to get to Korra’s house? Korra tries to rack her brain and remember if she saw a car behind Asami when she opened the door.

She doesn’t get the chance to think for long before Asami turns around and smiles gently at her.

“You know, I didn’t think the inside of your house would look like this, but now that I’ve seen it, I think it kinda suits you.” Korra’s vocal cords decide to shut down just as she opens her mouth to speak; she can only offer a meek nod in response.

Had it really been such a long time since she last heard Asami’s voice? A delicate, soft melody that made her heart lurch and her stomach clench. It invoked the same feeling that birds chirping did. Not the annoying ‘Oh my God, shut the hell up, I’m trying to sleep in’ kind of chirping, but the feeling that you get when you wake up without an alarm on a beautiful Sunday morning, and it’s early but you’re fine waking up early because it was natural and on your own time. You look out your window while you lazily stretch your arms up over your head and you hear the birds and suddenly, you’re filled with a strange sense of peace, like maybe today might be okay.

It terrified Korra, this notion that the same voice to bring forth such a good feeling could also shatter her heart, quick and easy, like glass smashing against the concrete.

She has to know why she’s here, even if the answer might kill her. The question is at the tip of her tongue, but Asami must have sensed her emotions and beats her to it. Her face scrunches up once she takes in Korra’s expression, and suddenly she goes from looking shy and buoyant, to pensive, almost scared.

“Is uh-” Asami clears her throat and nervously pushes a strand of hair out of her face. “Is your Dad here?”

“Oh. Um…no. No, he left to go drop Bato off at school and run a couple errands.”

Why did it matter whether her Dad was there or not? Just reject her. Reject her and get this over with. He would know something was wrong when he came home and found her sobbing her eyes out in her bedroom anyways, just _do_ it. The build-up to the inevitable was _killing_ her.

Asami studies her face carefully and then makes a small, surprised noise when she lands on Korra’s nose.

“You got your nose pierced?” Korra subconsciously raised her hand up to cover it; it was still new for her and sometimes felt weird when she remembered it was there. “No, no I like it.” Asami added quickly.

“Oh…um yea. Kya randomly came down as a surprise and basically forced me to get it. It was supposed to be an 18th birthday gift, but I think she enjoyed it more than me.” Korra shrugs.

“18th birthday gift.” Asami repeats.

“Yea… I mean, she paid for it, so…”

“You’re eighteen.” Asami stares at her, intense, calculating.

Korra pauses for a second, confused.

“Yes…I’m eighteen.” She repeats, slowly.

It all happens so fast, Korra still isn’t sure the exact mechanisms of the moment.

One second, Asami is at _least_ ten steps away, looking so nervous Korra fears she might faint or throw up or maybe even both. The next, Korra is pressed up against the front door, Asami’s lips smashing against hers, her wrists trapped between wood and long, slender fingers, holding her still. There’s a small, fleeting moment, right as Korra feels Asami’s lips come into contact with hers, where she feels like she can fly if she really put some thought into it; like she can stretch out her back muscles and revel in the relief of letting her wings spring free, carrying both her and Asami up, up, up and away from the house. But then Korra moans, mainly to release some of the built-up tension she’s been feeling, and Asami takes the opportunity to slip her tongue into Korra’s mouth, licking her way past teeth and eagerly stroking it against Korra’s, and at that, she actually _does_ fly.

She soars high up into the air and perches on top of a beam in her ceiling, much like the occasional bird that sometimes flew in through her living room window and sat there, tweeting away as her and her father frantically tried to shoo it back out of the house. It’s the strangest, most out of body experience, seeing herself from this position, seeing herself kissing Asami, being _kissed_ by Asami.

She’s yanked back into her body with the feeling of Asami’s fingers releasing their grip on her wrist, lightly scratching their way down her lower arms and then up her upper arms, up her neck, tangling into her hair and pulling slightly and oh _God_ , this really _isn’t_ a dream. This is real, Asami is here, and they’re kissing and Korra’s so hot, with Asami pressed against her desperately, as if Korra might run away if given even an inch of space to move. Korra keeps her hands up against the door, afraid to move, afraid to touch Asami, in case she might startle her out of this moment and stop her from what she’s doing. Instead, she clenches her fists together tightly, letting Asami lead the way.

Asami finally pulls back and Korra takes in a ragged breath, eager to feel Asami’s mouth on hers again, but Asami has other plans. Her hands still wrapped up in Korra’s hair, she pulls harder and exposes Korra’s neck, diving forward to lick a hot, wet line up from the bottom of her throat to the tip of her chin, gently nudging her leg in between Korra’s thigh and pressing up into her center.

“ _Oooohhh.”_ Korra gasps and her hips involuntarily surge forwards, her hands flying down to clutch onto Asami’s waist. She feels Asami smirk against her chin before releasing the hold on her hair and leveling with her face, planting small, heated kisses repeatedly on her lips.

“I missed you so much, Korra.” She murmurs against her mouth.

_‘I missed you too. I missed you so so much, Asami; I thought I would die sometimes, I missed you so fucking much.’_ The confession, the declaration is right there at the back of her throat, ready to be screamed out if only she can catch her breath long enough to do so.

Korra can’t respond with words though, can only let out a loud, pitiful whine. She clumsily grinds herself into Asami’s leg and clenches her fingers up against Asami’s waist, hoping that gets her message across.

“Can you take me to your room?” Asami pants, pulling away slightly, her breathing somewhat erratic and her cheeks rosy. There’s something subtly shy about the way she asks, like she’s nervous Korra might say no. The thought of _Asami_ being scared of rejection, specifically rejection from _her_ , makes her giddy. Fills her up with confidence. And turns her on. Weirdly.

“ _Fuck yes_.” Korra breathes, and grabs Asami by the sleeve of her hoodie, tugging her towards the stairs to head up to the room. Asami giggles at Korra’s enthusiasm and Korra snorts when Asami misses a step and trips in her rush to climb the staircase, almost bringing Korra down with her. They finally make it up to the room and Korra grimaces as she looks around at the mess. She doesn’t have time to apologize for it though, for as soon as they step in, Asami locks the door and then pushes Korra down onto the bed. She kicks her shoes off and climbs on top of Korra, pressing their lips back together, guiding Korra’s hands to hold onto her waist.

Korra is dragged back to Thanksgiving night, the first time she ever felt like maybe it was possible that Asami liked her back; wanted her in the same way. This, however, is infinitely better, because Asami is sober, and in her right mind, and had come all this way to see her. Korra had stepped back and allowed her to make a decision on her own terms, with no pressure, so this was _real,_ right? This was what they both wanted.

But as Asami groans into her mouth and gently begins grinding down into her, Korra realizes that she doesn’t want it to only be like this. She doesn’t just want to make-out with Asami; she wants to _be_ with her; wants Asami to be hers and for her to be Asami’s. She doesn’t want this to just be a physical thing.

But it’s so hard to think about anything _other_ than the physical with Asami on top of her, making desperate little mewling noises as she grinds down harder into the apex of Korra’s legs, claws at the string of her pajama pants, runs fingers up her stomach and rests her hands on Korra’s breasts, gently squeezing them before tracing feather-light circles over Korra’s erect nipples. Korra cries out and Asami swallows the sound in a deep kiss, pulling Korra up into a sitting position, wrapping her arms around Korra’s neck, not once breaking contact. Korra takes advantage of this new change in position. Gentle and reluctant, she breaks away from Asami, scooting from underneath her and crawling backwards to the opposite side of the bed, avoiding eye contact and trying to put some space between them and catch her breath.

Korra feels a deep pull in her stomach when she looks back up and takes in Asami’s aroused appearance; her lips red and swollen, her previously only somewhat messy bun now threatening to slip out the hair tie and set her hair free, her pupils so dilated that Korra can hardly see the green of her irises. She takes a deep breath and fights the urge to pull Asami back into another passionate kiss.

“Asami…I think we need to talk.”

~Asami~

_Talk._

How could one simple, little word wreak such havoc on her emotions, seize her up with fear, shame, and embarrassment, cause her heart rate to increase so drastically in such a short amount of time. It’s funny, or at least it might be if she thinks about this later on, how similar the physiology of being scared and being turned on were. Because at this very moment, she’s more terrified than she’s ever been before in her entire life, and not much in her physical state feels all that different. Her face is hot, her lips feel chapped, her mouth, dry, and her heart…it’s beating so fast she genuinely fears it might rip through her chest and plop down onto the bed beneath her. She supposes that, technically, they’re both states of arousal, just with insanely different causes…usually. Right now, the cause for Asami’s fear and desire are one in the same.

She had really fucked up this time. Like, _seriously_ fucked up. There was no going back from this. Asami couldn’t believe how utterly _stupid_ she had been, driving all the way down here and throwing herself at Korra like a desperate, lovestruck stalker. What was wrong with her; She could lose _everything_. Her fear that Korra would reject her had come true. Of course, Korra would move on and reflect back on their relationship thus far and feel nothing but disgust at Asami’s actions. She might even be tempted to report her to Zhu Li. Asami felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, frantically tried to fight the urge to blink, lest they spill out against her will, but of course they didn’t listen to her. A warm, wet stream flowed down either side of her face, but she didn’t bother trying to wipe it away; could only close her eyes and wait for the worst.

“Oh my God, no ‘Sami, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Rough hands wipe at her tears, soft lips press over hers, soothing and gentle. Korra cups Asami’s face in her palms and Asami finally opens her eyes. Korra is right there in front of her, staring at her with such affection, such wonder, it almost makes Asami want to keep crying.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just…I didn’t want it to go too far without us talking.” Korra whispers, leaning forward to kiss her again, most likely for reassurance. Asami swallows thickly, opens her mouth to respond but realizes that the lump that had been deposited into her throat during her brief moment of intense fear was still lodged there. So, she just nods instead. 

Korra pulls away and then situates herself in front of Asami, sitting cross-legged on the bed, and Asami fights to keep her eyes from traveling down to look at Korra’s erect nipples poking through her tank top. Jesus, what was wrong with her? Was it really so hard to go two seconds without thoughts about ripping Korra’s clothes off? Frustrated, she wipes the remaining tears away with the sleeve of her hoodie and waits for Korra to start talking.

“Asami…I don’t want… I think that we should… _bleh_ , I don’t know how to say this!” Korra laughs nervously.

“You don’t want me anymore.” Asami states softly. That made sense. Korra was too much of a sweetheart to be disgusted or angry at her, even if she should be. But still, enough time had passed for her to realize Asami wasn’t who she wanted to be with. At least, Asami thinks, she could still keep her job after all this, since clearly her dignity was lost forever.

“ _What?_ No! Asami, of course, I want you. Why would you…what made you think I didn’t?” Korra scrunches her brows up in confusion and Asami could almost laugh at how adorable she looked, cry at how badly she wanted to kiss her again, but she held herself back.

She shrugs and looks down at her hands twisted together in her lap. “I don’t know…I just thought…maybe you would have moved on by the time I made a decision. It’s why I drove down here. I didn’t want to wait to see you. I _couldn’t_ wait to see you.” Asami blushes, tries to sneak a peek up at Korra but quickly puts her head back down when she sees that Korra is smirking at her. “Don’t laugh at me!”

“I’m sorry.” Korra giggles. “It’s just… I can’t believe you drove eight hours straight, overnight…just to come see me.”

“Twelve, actually.” Asami looks up and smiles.

“ _Twelve?_ Asami, how?! Was there an accident? Are you okay?”

“No, I kept getting on and off the freeway because I would get scared and change my mind. But something kept pulling me back towards you.”

Korra chews at her bottom lip worriedly and Asami doesn’t have to guess hard at why she seems apprehensive all of a sudden. She reaches forward to grab Korra’s hands, squeezing them tightly.

“I’m not going to change my mind about this, Korra. I’m here. I…I want you. If you’ll have me.”

Korra studies her face, likely trying to gauge the sincerity of Asami’s words. Asami doesn’t look away; she keeps her face level and allows Korra to analyze it, to let her know that she’s serious about this. A smile slowly spreads across Korra’s face.

“Of course, I’ll have you, silly. There’s no one else I could possibly want but you.”

The memory of Korra making out with Kuzon in the music room suddenly flashes into Asami’s mind and she feels an uncontrollable surge of jealousy course through her. Her features twist into a grimace.

“No one?” She blurts out before she can stop herself.

Korra leans away, looking slightly taken aback.

“No, of course not. Why would you think there is?”

“I…it’s nothing. I’m sorry.” Asami averts her gaze, now a little embarrassed by her harsh reaction. She didn’t realize until just then how much that night affected her, but the memory of Korra grinding down into his lap, Kuzon’s hands wrapped around her waist, pushing himself into her... _ugh_ it was too much. She sometimes still felt sick at the thought of what might have happened if she hadn’t been angry enough to follow them that night. The intensity of rage and jealousy she had felt was a little shocking. Asami had _never_ been the jealous type before; not about men, not about sharing toys with her sister, not about someone in her class getting a higher grade than her. Why did it have to spring up now and randomly project onto Korra?

“No, Asami, spit it out. Is something bothering you?”

“It’s fine, Korra, honestly. I’m just overreacting.”

She can still feel Korra looking at her and sighs, knowing she’s not going to drop this unless Asami says what’s on her mind.

“I might have been…a little jealous…” Asami mutters under her breath.

“Jealous?” Korra sounds confused. “Of what? Of _who_? Kya?”

Asami snaps her head around. “No!” Wait, had Korra and Kya ever… “ _Should I be jealous of Kya?”_

Korra laughs and shakes her head no. “Well, she _has_ seen me naked a few times, but I guess technically, so have you.” She smirks and wiggles her eyebrows. Asami feels her face heat up. She was never going to be able to live that down.

“ _Korraaa_.” She groans and hides her face in her hands. Korra tugs on her wrist.

“C’mon ‘Sami, I’m bad at guessing. What made you jealous? Please, tell me. I promise I won’t laugh.” Asami lifts her head up and gives her a pointed glare.

“Okay, I promise I’ll try _really_ hard not to laugh.”

Jesus, did she really not know? Or was making Asami say it supposed to be some sort of twisted payback for all the stuff she had done over the past few months? Either way, it seemed as if Asami didn’t have a choice but to respond.

“Winter formal.” She mumbled, still refusing to just say his name.

“Winter formal.” Korra repeats.

“Music room. Left the dance.” _Take the damn hint, Korra!_

Korra is quiet as she pieces the puzzle together, gasping when realization finally struck.

“Asami Sato, are you jealous of Kuzon?”

“No, of course not!” She lied.

“No?”

“No.”

“Then what are you jealous of?”

“Nothing, I just…I… _Christ_ , Korra, in my defense, it looked like you were gonna have sex with him right there on the piano bench.” Asami pouts.

“I was actually going to, if you hadn’t walked in...”

“That’s not funny.”  
“And that day on the beach makes so much _sense_ now. I knew you didn’t like him; I just couldn’t figure out _why_.”

“Hey, I never said I didn’t like him-”

“And following us to the music room? Stalker.” She smirks.

“I was just doing my job.” Asami huffs, crossing her arms.

Korra laughs. “Sure, you were. I had honestly forgotten all about that.” She gets on her knees and leans forward to drape her arms around Asami’s shoulders, kissing her sweetly on the nose. Asami shivers at the contact, her jealousy forgotten. “I haven’t been able to think about anyone but you since I’ve been at Omashu.”

Asami allows herself to melt into the touch, leaning up to try and capture Korra’s lips with her own. She feels Korra smile against her mouth.

“Now imagine how I felt when you were engaged to Mako.”

_Ouch._ Asami pulls away wearing a pained expression. “Korra, I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you; I was just trying to do the right thing, and I thought…I was thinking that if I… _ugh,_ I don’t know what I was thinking, I ju-” Korra kisses her quiet, running the fleshy pad of her thumbs back and forth along her cheeks. Asami moans, reaching up to hold onto Korra’s wrist, her eyelids fluttering shut. She should probably invest in an inhaler, if kissing Korra would always make her this breathless.

The kiss ends with a slight _‘smack’_ as Korra pulls her lips away, and Asami can only pray that Korra doesn’t notice how out of breath she is, doesn’t notice the effect she has on her.

“It’s okay, Asami. You were trying to do the right thing. I know you have a lot to lose by being with me.” She swipes her thumb across Asami’s lips and then sits back. “So, I wanna do the right thing too. I wanna do this the right way.”

Asami stares at Korra curiously, not really sure what she meant by doing things the ‘right way’. She was sure that phrase didn’t really apply to any aspect of their relationship.

“I wanna take you on a date.”

_Oh._ A date. Korra wants to take her on a date.

“You wanna take me on a date?” She repeats out loud.

“Mmhmm.” Korra nods her head enthusiastically. “I’ve been wanting to take you on a date since the first time we hung out on Halloween. I just never thought I would get the chance. Still can’t believe you’re really here, to be honest.” She stares at Asami in awe.

“Oh, Korra.” It’s almost too much for her to bare, the intense feeling swelling up from her chest and coursing its way through her body. No one has _ever_ made her feel this way. She couldn’t describe it if she tried to, confused about exactly what this feeling was. She still wasn’t sure if it was a new, distinct feeling or a combination of many others, working together to produce this one single feeling that was currently lighting her body on fire, very similar to the way two paints might be mixed to produce an entirely new color.

Not knowing how to describe something was foreign to her, and normally Asami would be terrified of the unknown, but she wasn’t right now; She wasn’t, because this was Korra. Kind, sweet, patient Korra, who wouldn’t judge her about her emotions. So, she didn’t run, or dodge, or avoid the feeling. She let it drape over her body like a warm blanket, and she snuggled into it.

“You really don’t have to, Korra.” She knew Korra would persist, but she said it anyways, if only to hear Korra beg to take her out. Asami realized that she really liked being begged to do something; It made her feel _needed_.

“ _Please,_ Asami? I want to. I really want to. No one out here knows us, so we can go anywhere we want.” Korra slips their hands together, bringing Asami’s up to her mouth to kiss her fingers. “And I can hold your hand in public.” She leaned forward to press her lips against Asami’s. “And kiss you whenever I want. I’ll never get tired of kissing you.” She murmurs.

Asami smiles and pushes Korra down onto the bed, cuddling into her side, draping her arm over Korra’s midsection.

“Okay, okay, you win. Where do you plan on taking me, Miss Waters?” She tries not to giggle at Korra’s sudden shyness with their new position.

“Umm…I haven’t really figured it out yet.” She clears her throat and smiles down at Asami, kissing her on the forehead. “But I’m still not telling you when I do. It’s gonna be a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises.” Asami pouts.

“Well, you’re gonna _love_ this one.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have anything planned.”

“I might have something up my sleeve already.”

Asami leaned up to look into Korra’s face. “Korra, nothing super fancy. Please?”

“But Asami-”

“ _Please?_ ”

Korra sighs dramatically and tugs Asami back down into her arms. “Fine.” She grumbles. “When are you free?”

“Whenever you want me to be. We can do it tonight, if you wish. I just have to check into a hotel room.”

Korra laughs. “Someone’s eager.”

“Yes. Yes, I am.” Asami responded seriously.

Korra pauses and Asami lifts up to see her face. She supposed was being a bit too eager, but she couldn’t help it; She was just so _excited_. But maybe she should tone it down a notch, lest she scare Korra away.

Korra has the oddest expression on her face, and she’s looking at Asami like she’s dying to say something, but suddenly she closes her eyes and shakes her head, smiling softly.

“I can’t do today. I have to work in my Dad’s pottery shop. What about Friday?”

Later on, Asami might ask Korra what she does in the pottery shop, how long her Dad had owned it, how old she was when she first started working there, if she would mind showing it to her one day. For now, she pouts up at Korra, giving her polar bear-dog eyes.

“ _Friday?_ I have to go two whole days without seeing you again?” Asami whines.

“You can text me. Or call me. Or facetime me.” Korra giggles, rolling so that she was on top of Asami.

Asami decides that she likes this position better and wraps her arms around Korra’s waist, snuggling her closer, breathing in her scent.

“It’s not the same.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Korra whispers, then leans down to kiss her gently, like she’s the most fragile, precious thing in the world. Asami’s eyes flutter shut and she willingly loses herself in Korra’s taste, her touch, her smell, the weight of her tethering Asami down to earth, holding her steady. When she pulls away, Asami opens her eyes again to find Korra smiling down at her fondly.

“How long ‘til Tonraq gets back?” She murmurs.

“About an hour.”

“Perfect.” Asami sighs, reaching up to tangle her fingers in Korra’s hair and pull her back down.

* * *

~Korra~

It’s the longest two days of her life, but it’s also the happiest she’s been in a while. Her and Asami texted each other almost all day and everyday, and facetimed before they went to both went to bed at night.

“I miss you.” Asami would whisper sleepily through her phone screen, before dozing off with Korra still on the call. And Korra would grin, because she believed her. Asami wanted her. Asami was hers. It still felt surreal, even as she sent Asami goofy pictures of her and Bato feeding the ducks at the pond, or grumpy texts complaining about Tonraq forcing her to haul in fifty-pound bags of wet clay, or even on facetime when she would whisper back ‘I miss you too’, and then watch in awe as Asami fell fast asleep; It still felt like a dream.

“Alright, hold it. Where are you going?”

It was finally Friday night, and Tonraq catches Korra just as she’s about to scurry out the front door. She groans, impatient to see Asami but still turns around, not wanting to be rude to her father.

“Nowhere Dad, just out with some friends.”

“Hmm… _friends_ …plural or singular?”

“…Singular.” Korra sighs, figuring it was best to come clean about the amount of people she was going out with now. He would know she was lying anyways, when he asked for names and she wouldn’t be able to think of any fast enough.

“Have I met this boy?”

“Ah…no?” Yes, he _had_ met Asami…but he asked her about a _boy,_ so this technically wasn’t lying.

He looked up from the book he was reading while situated in his living chair, tilting his glasses down his nose and looking at her over the rim.

“Do we need to have another convo about sexual safety before you head out or do you remember every-”

“Ohhhh my God, Dad, no, stop! I’m leaving, goodbye!”

Korra slammed the front door shut and ran down the steps, drowning out her father’s warnings about condoms and STD’s. She takes her flashlight out of her satchel and flips it on, swiftly making her way through the forest to meet Asami at her sunset-watching spot.

Asami is standing in the middle of the clearing, wearing denim blue jeans, boots, and a tan, oversized hoodie with the Ba Sing Se university logo embroidered across the center. Her silky, black hair shines underneath the light cast from the lamp next to the bench, falling around shoulders in thick, luscious waves, framing her face like a black crown.

Korra stays quiet for a minute, watching her, before she steps into the light and clears her throat, making her presence known. Asami whips her head around, and Korra clenches her hand tight around her flashlight and she takes a deep breath. Asami looked so… _vibrant_ ; She was practically glowing. Korra couldn’t decide whether the expression itself made her ecstatic or just the fact that Asami was this happy _because_ of her, this cheerful because she was seeing _her_.

“Korra!” Asami squeals, and then runs to close the distance between them, throwing her arms around Korra’s neck, pulling until Korra was flush against her body. She leans back before Korra can recover from the sudden contact and then presses their lips together, stealing the little bit of remaining breath that Korra had left in her lungs. It’s reassuring to see Asami so excited to be with her; It validates the wrecking ball of emotions that crash into her whenever she’s in Asami’s presence.

_‘She’s mine. She’s really mine. This is real; I’m not dreaming. Asami Sato really chose me.’_

She breaks away from the kiss and smirks up at Asami, weaving their hands together.

“Missed me?”

“Oh, don’t sound so smug. I know you missed me too.” Asami laughs and reaches up to swat at Korra with her free hand. Korra weakly attempts to dodge the hit, giving up when Asami pulls her in for another kiss.

She sighs and then steps back and looks Asami up and down. “You look comfortable.” 

“You _told_ me to dress comfortable. And then didn’t tell me where we were going.” Asami pouts. “This is just what I had in my trunk.”

At this point, Korra couldn’t stop smiling even if she wanted to. She pecks Asami on the lips. “I love it. You look beautiful.” She refrains from making a comment about how great her ass also looks in the jeans, thinking that might be too forward right now.

“And why are you,” Asami loops an index finger through a belt hole on Korra’s shorts and tugs Korra back into her. “wearing shorts? It’s winter.”

Korra tries to hide the shudder that runs through her body. “Because I’m hot and we live in California.” She said lamely.

“Yea…well you _are_ pretty hot.” Asami says, her voice low and seductive. She untangles her hand from Korra’s and runs them both up her arms, squeezing her biceps and then coming up to cup her face. “Maybe we should go to my car and cool you off…” She lets the offer hang in the air, and _Jesus,_ Korra wants to accept it so bad. But she had plans for them tonight; they could make-out later. No, they _would_ make out later.

Korra shakes her head no and steps out of Asami’s grasp, who scowls and crosses her arms. Korra giggles.

“Come on, grouchy.” She grabs Asami’s wrist and tugs. “I wanna show you something.”

She leads Asami down a path that takes them deeper into the woods, ignoring Asami muttering about Korra being a serial killer trying to drag her to a place where her screams can’t be heard. They finally reach the second clearing in the forest and Korra steps to the side, allowing Asami to come up next to her and take in the view, grinning proudly when Asami lets out a shocked gasp.

In the middle of the second clearing is a huge oak tree, and attached to that tree is Korra’s childhood treehouse, with its sturdy wooden stairs spiraling down from the entrance of the treehouse to the ground near the base of the tree. The actual size of the house was hidden by the thick, green foliage of the tree leaves, but anyone looking up could still see that it was massive, and a lot of care had been put into building it.

Korra turned to look at Asami was met with a stunned expression, Asami’s mouth forming a small ‘o’ as she took in the treehouse.

“Korra…”

“Yea?”

“…that’s a treehouse.”

“Unh huh…”

“Is it…is it yours?”

“Yea. When I was a little older than Bato, my parents bought the plot of land surrounding the tree and built this for me. Mom always figured since I like climbing trees so much and they could never stop me, I might as well have a nice place to rest once I made it to the top. Those stairs actually weren’t added until Bato was old enough to want to come up with me but couldn’t climb trees like I could.” Korra laughs.

Asami finally turned to look at her, excitement shining on her face.

“You’re so cool.”

Korra shrugs, a blush spreading across her cheeks, but also relieved that Asami seems to be impressed so far. She had spent the past two days obsessing over ways to make this the perfect first date. “Eh, it’s nothin’. D’you wanna go up?”

She doesn’t answer, just swoops in to plant a kiss to her cheek and then begins dragging her towards the base of the stairs. Asami stops when they get to the steps and lets Korra go up first, clinging onto her hand as they make their ascent. Once they get to the top, Korra swings the door open and makes a sweeping gesture with her hand, signaling for Asami to go in. Asami giggles and curtsies gracefully, then steps into the treehouse, only to let out another little gasp.

Korra gives Asami a moment to take in the room. She’s carefully placed lit candles all over the room and cleared the space in the middle to make room for a huge blanket with a picnic basket in the center and roses strewn all around it. In the basket is Asami’s favorite meal (roasted duck with a side of rice) and her favorite dessert (egg custard tarts), with a bottle of sparkling apple cider on the side. To top the atmosphere off, Korra has music playing softly in the background from a speaker she has connected to her phone.

She anxiously waits for Asami to say something, but Asami remains quiet with an unreadable expression on her face. Maybe she’s having second thoughts about this? Panic shoots through Korra at the possibility. What if Asami was still on the fence, even though she told Korra she wasn’t, and the date was too much for her; made this too real for her. But another possible explanation for the reaction, one that Korra had embarrassingly never thought about before, was that Asami was rich; She came from money. More likely than not, she had been on some really fancy, expensive dates in the past. She had told Korra nothing fancy, but what if ‘nothing fancy’ just meant ‘Let’s go to Kwong’s Cuisine or Nobu’s’ instead of the usual ‘plane ride to Paris to eat at the Tailievent or Guy Savoy’? A fancy night out to Korra usually meant going to The Olive Garden or The Cheesecake Factory, maybe Narook’s Noodles if her dad had really good business in the pottery shop that year or if her mom covered extra shifts at the hospital. Asami probably thought she was some poor, tasteless hillbilly, which yes, she probably _was_ , but to have only realized it now was another level of embarrassing. She’s about five seconds away from calling this whole thing off and running back down the stairs to go cry and scream in her room, then maybe yell at her dad for not being rich enough to impress the only person Korra’s ever cared this much about impressing.

Finally, Asami turns to look at her, but her face remains unreadable, almost blank.

“You did all this…for _me_?” She questions Korra, and her voice, although nearly as unreadable as her face, it quivers a bit. Korra still can’t figure out if Asami likes it or not, her anxiety remaining at an all-time high.

Korra nods dumbly. “I know it’s not much and probably not as classy as what you’re used to, but you said nothing fancy but honestly I probably wouldn’t have been able to do something fancy even if you asked me to, so I thought maybe you’d be okay with just your favorite foods to eat and look!”

Korra had meant to save this for the end of the date, as a sort of finale to really impress Asami, but she can’t seem to stop herself at this point, the fear that she won’t measure up in Asami’s eyes consuming her. She steps further into the treehouse and presses a button hidden behind the door. Suddenly, the roof of the treehouse hums to life, lifts up and then petals outwards to rest on the side of the house, revealing the clear night sky above them. She hears Asami let out a soft gasp.

“My parents built this feature in when I was ten, after they noticed how obsessed I was with looking at the sky. I would come up here for hours just to stare up at it. I would fall asleep up here a lot and my mom would have to come up here and close the roof and cover me with a blanket, and sometimes she would fall asleep with me. I thought that you would like it because you always told me about how you and your mom would go to the mountains twice a year to see the stars clearly, and how that was something you missed when she passed away and-”

“You remembered that?” Asami says suddenly.

Korra nods, her nerves and her sudden word vomit episode making her breathless

She hates it, Korra thinks miserably, she hates it but she’s trying to find a nice way to let me down. The tackiness of the picnic was one thing, but then to take a special thing between Asami and her mom and try to recreate that on their first date…

A gust of wind whooshes through the treehouse, blowing out the candles and bathing them both in darkness. Asami doesn’t say anything else, and neither does Korra; the only sound in the room is the music that’s still filtering out from the speaker.

This was it; The abrupt end of her very first relationship, before it had really even started.

“Korra…I don’t know what to say…” Asami whispers.

“I’m really sorry Asami, I know this is horrible compared to what you’re used to. We can just pack the fo-”

“ _Sorry? Horrible?_ ” Asami sounds exasperated. “Korra, I’ve never…No one’s ever…” She huffs in annoyance, the words seemingly just out of her reach.

And suddenly, Asami was kissing her, open-mouthed, wild, and utterly, completely _unhinged_. Korra moans, her satchel sliding off her shoulder and dropping to the floor with a thud, her hands flying around Asami’s waist, latching onto her, trying to hold herself steady under Asami’s relentless storm of passion.

Asami licks her way into Korra’s mouth and then _sucks_ on Korra’s tongue once she gains access. Korra feels her knees weaken at the action, but Asami holds her up against the wall, keeping her from falling over. She pulls away to kiss across Korra’s neck, along her jawline, up to her earlobe, sucking in the fleshy part and swirling Korra’s earring around with her tongue. Korra lets out a strangled cry, her fingernails digging into Asami’s hoodie at the waist. She’s sure she would leave marks if there wasn’t a barrier between her hands and Asami’s skin.

“ _What are you doing to me?_ ” Asami rasps into her ear, pulling them closer together, but then lifting up to lean her forehead against Korra’s, taking in choppy breaths. Korra doesn’t respond, too busy trying to peel herself back from the cliff her and Asami had almost went over. If they had kissed just a bit longer, if Asami’s hands had gripped her just a _little_ lower, they wouldn’t have been able to come back from it.

At least, Korra wouldn’t have been able to. And she wanted her first time with Asami to be perfect; not on the dirty floor of her childhood treehouse. She also realized, now that the heat of the moment was passing, that she was _terrified_ of sex with Asami. Not the act itself, but more so with her inexperience. What if she was bad at it, and couldn’t make Asami orgasm? What if she smelled funny? Or tasted funny? She needed to do some more research first, prepare herself more before she just dove into this blind. So, she took some deep breaths to calm down and then reluctantly moved away from Asami, who was now starting to look a little embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, Korra. I don’t know what’s come over me lately.” She mumbles, keeping her eyes trained on the ground. Korra smiles and reaches out to squeeze Asami’s hand reassuringly, then quietly goes around the room to relight the candles, presses the button to close the roof so that they won’t blow out again. They could reopen it later, after they had eaten. Once she’s done, she turns to find Asami arranging the plates for their food onto the blanket and her heart skips a beat. She takes her place across from Asami and begins unpacking the basket.

“You know,” Asami says quietly, “We never have to…do more than kissing if you don’t want to, Korra. I’m not just trying to get in your pants; I really like you.” Asami looks up at her earnestly.

Korra grins and leans forward to press a chaste kiss against Asami’s lips. When she pulls away, Asami still has her eyes closed, a soft smile etched onto her face. She didn’t say anything else, just continued to unpack the basket, content in the knowledge that Asami was really there, had really chosen her, and really wanted her.

They talked quietly as they ate their food, and once they were done, Korra hopped back up to press the roof button again, grabbing an extra blanket from her satchel to wrap around her and Asami.

They cuddled together and watched the stars for a couple of hours, with Asami animatedly pointing out constellations and Korra listening closely. As she felt Asami begin to drift off on her shoulder, she reached over to tuck a strand of Asami’s hair behind her ear.

“I really like you too, Asami.” She whispered into her hair, before her eyes fluttered shut and she fell fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teenager in Love by Dion and the Belmonts on repeat while I wrote this lmaoooo. Omg I had the absolute worst writer’s block with this chapter, I don’t know why(tbh probably because I was sick lmaooo, my mind is still a mess) It took me daysss to complete it and I still don’t think I like it all that much but whatevs, keep having to tell myself this is just for fun! I won’t be able to update for a little while because I have finals, but I hope you guys liked the fluff I delivered this chapter :))) <3
> 
> OH, also, here’s the link to the playlist Korra played during their date: https://youtu.be/88gyDoXRoDQ


	20. Pynk-Janelle Monae ft. Grimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra spends her first night with Asami as they test the boundaries of their new relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Pink is my favorite part~
> 
> HI BUDDIES!! I’m so so sorry for the wait!!  
> 

~Korra~

Korra lets out a frustrated breath, crossing her arms and leaning back in her desk chair. She couldn’t focus on her math homework right now; couldn’t place the decimals where they needed to go, make sense of the numbers or sort out the fractions. It was all jumbling together in her head, her mind tempting her to focus on the numbers of her clock instead. _5:00pm_. Just three more hours. Three more hours until Asami would meet her at the side gate and she would spend her first night with Asami actually… _with_ Asami. Even after three weeks, it all felt so unreal, so dreamlike. Korra feared she might wake up and find this was all something that she had concocted to deal with the harsh reality. But every day after Biology, Asami would send her small, knowing smiles before Korra left class to go to gym (Coach Kuvira _insisted_ that she come to P.E. now and put in more training to really earn her spot on the Basketball varsity team, so no more “tutoring” sessions Asami). Or it would be slight touches when Asami would pass by her during the living area activity, winking at Korra when no one was watching, very subtle things to remind Korra that she remembered, that they were real. None of it was ever enough though.

Korra wanted so badly to kiss Asami, to touch her and feel her body pressed against Korra’s the way it was back in the treehouse, back in her bedroom. She had finally reached the end of her rope after the second weekend of being at the academy with no sign of Asami possibly asking her to sneak off and go somewhere they could be alone together. So, on Monday after Asami’s class, she waited patiently for all the students to file out before she got up and locked the door. She heard Asami inhale sharply and turned around to see her perched on the edge of her desk, looking at Korra and biting her bottom lip.

“Korra…” she whispered, a warning. Korra stepped towards her anyways.

“I miss you.”

“Korra, you can’t lock the door. It’ll look suspicious.”

“I _miss_ you.” Korra repeated, inching closer slowly until she was right in front of Asami.

“Korra…we can’t do this here.”

“I wanna touch you, ‘Sami. And kiss you. _Please._ ” Korra cautiously reached forward to wrap her arms around Asami’s waist, pulling them flush together. Asami whimpered and brought her hands up to Korra’s shoulders but made no move to push Korra away. Instead, she slid her hands along Korra’s shoulders and up her neck, until they gently cupped Korra’s face. Asami leaned forward and pressed their lips together and Korra sighed at the feeling, slipping her tongue into Asami’s mouth and sliding her hands across her lower back. Asami gasped and pulled away slightly, causing their lips to part with a wet _smack_.

“Korra.” Another warning, this time accompanied by a gentle push against Korra’s shoulders. Korra pouted and Asami gave her a small smile. She was trying to be patient, but honestly there was only so much she could take. She couldn’t kiss Asami, she couldn’t hold Asami. Hell, she couldn’t even look at her for longer than a few seconds before tearing her gaze away out of fear someone would see the longing in her eyes. She knew that their relationship had to be kept under wraps, but still, going this long with Asami right in front of her but unable to do anything was driving her crazy. And it terrified her to think that Asami wasn’t as affected about it as she was.

As if reading her mind, Asami laced her fingers through Korra’s and brought their joint hands up to her lips, placing kisses along her knuckles. Korra let out a soft breath, relishing the moment before Asami let her hands go and then removed herself from Korra’s hold.

“I’m going home this weekend.” Asami said as she made her way to the classroom door. She unbolted the lock and then turned to look at Korra, signaling for her to come over. Korra hastily gathered her things and then went over to Asami next to the door.

“You’re going home?”

“Mmhmm.” Asami replied, looking at Korra intently. It took a second for everything to click, but when it did, a flood of warmth seized up from the pit of Korra’s stomach and spread throughout her body.

“Oh.” She said, for lack of a better word. “Uhm…” She coughed to clear her throat. “When are you…what day are you leaving?”

“Friday. Eight pm.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Asami raised her eyebrows, probably not sure if Korra got the message.

Korra grinned and stood on her tip toes to press a kiss to Asami’s lips, ignoring her squeal of protest.

“Okay.” Korra confirmed, and then opened the door to leave for P.E.

That had been on Monday, and now it was Friday and Korra was trying to finish her stupid calculus homework so that she could be completely free to spend time with Asami this weekend, but her brain went right back to the clock on her phone. _5:10pm._

_Are you serious right now?! It had only been 10 minutes?!_

“For God’s sake, I give up. I give up!” Korra grumbled, getting up to flop onto her bed and scream into her pillow.

“Oh God, is this Calculus?” Kya came up to her desk and wrinkled her nose down at the open textbook. “Oh _yuck_ , not AP Calculus. I _told_ you to switch to statistics at the beginning of the school year, this shit is horrible.”

Kya flopped down next to her on the bed and Korra sat up to face her.

“It’s not that.” Korra sighed.

“Yea, I was gonna say, you usually go through Calculus homework with no problem. Ew, is it that thing where they make shit harder this semester than last semester? Why do they do that? I hate school.”

“No, Kya it’s not Calculus. I just can’t focus right now.”

“Ohhhh, is it cause you’re thinking about getting laid tonight?”

“Kya!”

“What?” She laughed and dodged Korra’s pillow attack. “Is that not what’s going to happen? And don’t tell me you don’t want it, because I saw that lingerie set you tried to hide before I came in the room last week!” Kya pointed a finger at her accusingly and Korra whipped her head around to avoid eye contact.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Korra muttered.

“Oh yes the fuck you do.” Kya snorted and pulled on her arm to get her to turn back around. “Korra, come on. Stop being such a prude about it! Sex is natural. And Miss Sato is hot, I’d be excited too.”

“Kya please, I really don’t want to talk about this. We’re not gonna do anything, I can’t…I don’t know if she even…wants me like that.” Korra finally turned around and looked Kya in the face.

“Please, if you were being honest about how all over you she was on the first date I am one hundred percent certain she wants to eat you like you’re the last supper.”

“Okay see, when you say stuff like that, it makes me remember why I don’t like talking to you about this.” Korra makes to get off the bed but Kya drags her back down, cackling.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m trying not to poke fun at you, you’re just so cute when you get flustered. Please talk to me, Korra.” Kya pouts and tightens her hold on Korra’s arm.

“Kya, I’m scared.” Korra confesses quietly.

“Oh, shit… really?”

Korra nods and watches as Kya takes a minute to ponder this.

“I’m assuming your scared cause it’s your first time.” Korra hums in agreement.

“And I’m also gonna go out on a limb here and assume you don’t want any vagina-on-vagina orgasm advice.” Kya raises her hand and wiggles her fingers, looking at Korra expectantly.

“I’d literally rather die but thank you.” Korra said quickly.

Kya laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “Well then I have no advice for you, young grasshopper. You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to and I’m sure Miss Sato is gonna respect your boundaries. Just…go with it. The lingerie is a good start, I’ll give you that.” Kya hopped off the bed and checked the time on Korra’s phone.

“Well look at that! We just killed ten minutes, so you’re that much closer to having your brains fucked out tonight.” Kya grinned wickedly and then made her to the door. Korra rolled her eyes, way too use to Kya’s antics to even be embarrassed at this point.

“Where are you going?” She asked, stretching out across her bed and folding her arms over her forehead.

“Out.” Kya stated, not offering any further information.

“Kya, seriously? You’ve been going out a lot recently and not telling me where. That’s not safe.” Korra frowned and was about to prod Kya further when her phone let out a _ping_ , indicating she just received a text. She looked down at the screen to see who it was from and her heart did a somersault in her chest. _Asami._

She picked up the phone and quickly read through the message.

“She asked if we could leave now.” Korra said hoarsely.

“Ooooo Miss Sato’s a horny little devil.” Kya quipped.

Korra scrambled off the bed and began throwing the rest of her things into her tote bag, sighing in resignation as she packed her backpack up too. _Guess I’ll just have to finish this over the weekend._

“Okay, well I’m leaving now, bye Korra.” Kya sang as she ran out the door and shut it quickly behind her. Korra huffed in annoyance, knowing she would just have to question Kya about her behavior later; She was too preoccupied with other things at the moment.

After making sure she packed her toothbrush, some deodorant, and other toiletries, she hiked her bag up onto her back and then slipped down the stairs and out the building.

Korra desperately tried to quell her nerves as she made her way to the side gate, but she failed miserably. Sure, she had dreams of this night happening multiple times, and she wanted it. God, she wanted Asami so bad, the ache was almost unbearable. But knowing that her dreams were about to become reality in ways she never thought possible…she couldn’t fight the suffocating anxiety that was creeping in, all the what if scenarios and performance doubts. She had never been with a woman and had only recently learned how to make herself cum. What if Asami wasn’t satisfied with Korra in bed and that made her want to call the relationship off? Maybe not right away, but sometime in the future, after she finally realized that Korra wasn’t enough for her. Couples break up over sex all the time, at least that’s what the blogs on the internet had told her. What made her and Asami any different?

She wiped her palms against her jeans to get rid of the sweat accumulating on them and then entered the code that would open up the side gate for her. Just as promised, Asami was right there on the street, waiting to pick her up. She unlocked the trunk of her car and Korra slid her bag in and closed it, then made her way to the passenger side to hop in. Asami grinned at Korra as she put her seatbelt on and then leaned over the console to kiss her hello. She feels Asami smile against her lips.

“You always taste so _good_.” She purrs, snaking her tongue out and skimming it lightly along Korra’s bottom lip for emphasis. Korra flinches away but then quickly tries to smooth over her terseness when she sees the confused look on Asami’s face.

“Sorry, I uh…we should…we should leave campus first…in case someone sees us.”

It’s a sorry excuse, especially given Korra’s history of jumping Asami’s bones whenever the opportunity presented itself. Based on the frown on her face, she can tell Asami doesn’t buy it, but she nods her head anyways and then starts up the car.

The drive to the house is silent, save for the pop music playing on the radio and the soft hum of the engine as the ghost along the highway. Korra watches the trees skip by her window in a blur, their shapes undefined against the blue-black of the night sky, but still feeling the heaviness of their size as they tower over the car. She sneaks a glance at Asami and notices her chewing away at her bottom lip, a sign that Korra had come to know as her being worried. Korra hated that she was the cause of Asami’s distress, but she could do little to remedy it. She was so nervous about what could happen tonight, her first night completely alone with Asami, everything between them laid bare. She hated how tense she was right now, but even looking at Asami made her choke on her own breath. She swallowed thickly and focused her attention back on the scene outside of the car.

When they finally pull up to Asami’s house, Korra trips out of the car and goes to get her stuff out the back before following Asami up the steps to her front door. Asami shuffles around for the keys in her purse and then lets them into the house, stepping to the side to allow Korra to walk by her. When Asami flips the light switch on, Korra takes a moment to drink in her surroundings, noticing things she never got the chance to make note of before. She stares at the potted cacti plants that line up along the staircase, the painting of a desert that hangs above a small coffee table with a mahogany scented candle atop. Korra turns back around to look at Asami, only to find that she had been watching her. She feels her face begin to heat up and shifts her feet self-consciously, waiting for Asami to give her instructions on where to put her things.

Asami continues assessing her quietly, then finally offers Korra a gentle smile.

“You can put your stuff in the guest room. I’m gonna get the popcorn and put it in the microwave, start Netflix up. You want hot chocolate?” Asami asks as she begins walking towards the kitchen.

“Oh. Uhh…yea, hot chocolate sounds coolio.” Korra grins.

Asami snorts and shakes her head at Korra’s dorkiness. “Okay, _coolio_. Hurry up and put your stuff away. We’re watching the Office.”

“I love the Office!” Korra yells at Asami’s retreating figure. She bounds up the stairs and into the guest room, dumping her stuff next to the bed and then ripping through her bag to take out her lingerie set. After slipping on the lace panties and push up bra, Korra evaluates herself in the full-length mirror, spinning and posing to get the full effect. Although it had felt ridiculous to try on at the mall last weekend, she had to admit she was glad she bought it. The bra made her boobs look _amazing_ and even perkier than usual, and the panties really accentuated the curve of her butt. She still was a little self-conscious about Asami seeing her like this, but if tonight was going to be the night, then she would do this the right way.

She was partially relieved that Asami told her to put her things in the guest room, which Korra took as Asami offering the chance to say no to having sex if she wanted. Just the thought of Asami being so considerate about her being comfortable made her feel even more ready. She wanted Asami and knew that tonight, her dreams would finally turn into reality.

She threw on some pajama shorts, an oversized T-shirt, and knee high fuzzy black socks, then swooped her hair up into a ponytail. After checking herself in the mirror one more time, Korra finally made her way downstairs to the living room and found Asami sitting cross-legged on the couch, wearing sweatpants and a tank top, with a bowl of popcorn situated in the space between her legs. Korra snuck up behind her and then leaned down to blow air into her ear and kiss her neck.

“Korra!” Asami giggled and swatted her away. Korra hops over the back of the couch and then cuddles into Asami’s side, tucking her feet underneath her.

“So what episode are we watching?” Korra asks as she watches Asami flip through the seasons.

“I don’t know. I’ve watched all nine seasons like thrice already.” She frowns as she skims through season four episodes.

Korra leans away from Asami and crinkles her nose. “ _Thrice_? Did you just say _thrice_? Who says _thrice?”_

“I do. What’s your point?”

“You’re weird.”

“I’m weird?! This coming from the girl who would go back and walk around a pole if she accidentally splits it with someone? But _I’m_ the one that’s weird?”

“Hey, that’s not being weird, it’s bad luck! If anything, you could say that’s superstitious. But at least I don’t say thrice. Dork.” Korra sticks her tongue out, expecting Asami to make a retort, but Asami just smiles at her and cups her cheek. She leans forward to press their lips together and Korra gasps in surprise. _Oh God…is it happening right now? Is this the start? Are we going to just do it right here on the couch?_ Against her will, her body begins to tense up.

Before Korra’s mind can go any further, Asami pulls away, placing one last small peck on the corner of Korra’s mouth and then turning her attention back to the screen.

“Okay, so I think we can just start with the dinner party episode and then skip around from there. What do you think?”

Korra nods dumbly in agreement and Asami chuckles, then presses play on the remote and leans into Korra.

They spend the next four hours laughing at the Office, eating popcorn, and drinking hot chocolate, with Asami making trips to the kitchen when their bowls or cups started to get empty. As the night progresses, Korra gets more and more relaxed at the idea of sex with Asami, and full believes she’s ready now. But if Asami is, she makes no moves to let her know. If anything, Korra’s concern about having sex with Asami quickly changes to her being concerned about whether Asami even _wanted_ to have sex with her. They hadn’t kissed since the beginning of their Netflix marathon, nor has Asami made any significant attempts on her. The furthest she had gone was resting her head against Korra’s shoulder and judging by the soft snores falling out of her mouth, Asami had fallen fast asleep.

“Asami?” Korra whispers softly, shaking her shoulder slightly to wake Asami up. She reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind Asami’s ear, smiling as Asami’s eyes flutter open. She sits up and yawns, stretching her arms above her head and shaking her hair out.

“Geez, I didn’t know I was so tired. How long have I been sleep?” She looks over at Korra and smiles apologetically. Okay, so she was tired. What did that mean? People still had sex when they were tired right? Or was she waiting for Korra to d something? Honestly, for something that had been done since the beginning of time, the rules of initiating sex seemed to be incredibly fucking difficult.

“About thirty minutes.” Korra shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s been a long week. I’m…I’m actually pretty tired too.” She forces a yawn out to prove her point

“Yeah, I guess it has.” Asami looks around the room briefly and then sighs, getting up to dust the popcorn kernels off her sweats.

“Well, if we’re both tired I guess we should head to bed, no?” Asami smiles down at Korra, making her heartbeat quicken and her face begins to heat up. She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to respond but finds that she can’t get any words to come out. _This is happening. Jesus, it’s really happening, okay calm down. Just say_ _something sexy. Don’t stare at her breasts. Wait, no why not? You’re about to see them up close and personal, why would she care if you look at them now? Okay, Korra seriously, it’s been a few seconds since you should’ve said something. Say something. Say something NOW._

“Asami, I-” Korra starts to croak, but Asami cuts her off.

“Or you can stay down here and keep watching if you want? It’s completely up to you. You can just leave everything here and we’ll clean it up tomorrow.” The affectionate smile remains on Asami’s face and she leans down, placing a delicate kiss on her lips.

“Goodnight Korra.”

Korra watches as Asami heads towards the stairs, shooting her one last smile before she disappears up the staircase. She turns back toward the TV and groans, leaning forward to put her head in her hands. She was such an idiot, how on earth did she manage to screw this up? Why didn’t Asami ask her to come to bed with her? Did she say something wrong? Is it because her boobs looked weird in her new bra underneath her shirt? _Wait, what?_

Korra frowns and shakes her head to get rid of that last intrusive thought, then waits for a few minutes to see if she can hear Asami moving around upstairs. When she doesn’t hear anything, she sighs, then gets up and begins cleaning the living room. Even though Asami assured her they would deal with the mess in the morning, Korra doesn’t feel right leaving things how they are. Besides, it gives her time to analyze what had just transpired before going upstairs to face her empty bed in the guest room.

Korra was _sure_ that tonight was going to be the night she was finally able to be intimate with Asami. It had started off a little rocky, but she had eventually gotten comfortable enough and was waiting for Asami to make the first move. Did Asami change her mind about them? Or what if she just didn’t want Korra in that way. She had thought that when Asami promised they never had to do more than kissing, it was because she wanted to make sure Korra was ready, not because _she_ didn’t want to do more than kissing. The more Korra thought about it, however, the more sense it made. Asami had always been reluctant about having a relationship with her. And Korra _was_ always the one to initiate everything. Yes, Asami had driven all the way to L.A. to see her, but Korra had to basically beg to spend time with her this weekend. How much of this relationship was real, or was it all just Korra pushing and pushing and _pushing_ until Asami finally caved, due to having no other choice?

Korra slowly made her way up the stairs, pausing in front of Asami’s door when she notices that light is pouring out from the crack at the bottom. Maybe they could talk about this, before Korra allows her mind to get the best of her. Asami probably actually was tired and just not in the mood, which was completely valid and would hopefully put Korra’s mind at ease. She hesitantly raises her hand up to knock on the door, but just before she’s about to, she hears a light switch click and the pool of light vanishes at her feet, leaving her all alone in the darkness of the hallway.

Korra trudges to the guest room, gingerly removing the lingerie and burying it into her tote bag, then tucking herself and her injured pride into bed. Sleep wouldn’t come easy to her tonight, not with the object of her desires lying directly across the hallway from her, but not wanting anything to do with her.

_Okay, Korra please calm down. She said she was tired. Asami wouldn’t lie to you. She likes you enough to risk her career for you. Just because she doesn’t want to sleep with you right now doesn’t mean she doesn’t like you._

Korra stares up at the ceiling, focusing on the fan above her head and running through some breathing exercises that her previous therapist had taught her before she came to Omashu. She took a deep breath, letting the air fill her stomach like a balloon and held it for a few seconds, then slowly released out her mouth, sucking her stomach in to get all the air out, and then repeat. Feeling much calmer now, she went on to her mindfulness exercise, willing her brain to empty, taking note of where it drifted off to, acknowledging that, and then coming back to her exercise. She’s finally able to drift off to sleep, her last conscious thought being of Asami.

They would talk tomorrow; Korra would make sure of it. Asami wouldn’t lie to her, so the best strategy is to just put everything out on the table immediately. No matter the outcome, she and Asami would work something out, and they would be okay. Her eyelids fluttered shut, her last conscious thought barely registering a door opening softly, the faint smell of lavender and vanilla caressing her nostrils, warm lips pressing a delicate kiss on her cheek.

****************************

The next day is pretty much a repeat of the day before. Korra wakes up and takes a moment to look around the empty room, sighing deeply before pulling the covers back and swinging her feet off the side of the bed. She brushes her teeth and then throws some clothes on before bouncing down the stairs, the smell of bacon wafting up to her nose and beckoning her into the kitchen. She finds Asami still wearing her pajamas but with an apron wrapped around her waist, all her attention on the pancakes she has cooking over the stove. She grins when she notices Korra in the kitchen, telling her to help herself to the food she has splayed out on the counter.

Korra does so, and Asami joins her soon after. She debates whether or not she should bring up her concerns right now, but ultimately decides against it. Everything seems to be going okay. Asami is happy and she’s kissing her and feeding her pancakes. She’s a lot touchier than yesterday, which Korra takes as a good sign. Maybe she really was tired and just needed to rest. If that was the case, there was no point in bringing up her concerns. Korra decided to just allow the day to pan out, hoping Asami would eventually make a move.

Except she never did. After lounging around the house all day, catching up on work and watching romcoms on Netflix, Asami kissed Korra goodnight at exactly 8:30 pm, yawning as she went up the stairs. Korra stared up after her disbelievingly. Who gets tired at eight _fucking_ thirty? Was Asami avoiding her, and if so, why? They could just talk about this; it didn’t have to be a big deal. Unless Asami just didn’t want her but was afraid of hurting Korra’s feelings. Whatever. She wouldn’t wait around to find out, not when tonight was their last night together for who knows how long. If Asami didn’t want her, she would just have to tell Korra to her face.

Korra marched up the stairs and knocked on Asami’s door before she could change her mind. When she got no immediate answer, she pushed the door open slightly and poked her head inside. A soft, blue-white light spilled out from the open bathroom door, illuminating part of the bedroom, and she heard Asami humming over the running tap water. Korra snuck all the way inside the room and quietly closed the door behind her. Like a moth to a light, she felt herself drawn towards the bathroom, and stood in the doorway, watching Asami brush her teeth and sway her body in time to the music she had playing on a small stereo on the bathroom sink. Korra smiled and bit her lip to hold in a laugh.

Once Asami finished brushing her teeth, she spit and then rinsed her mouth out, using the inside of her shirt to dry her face. She picked up her phone and then turned to exit and go towards the bedroom but let out a yelp when she saw Korra standing in the doorway.

“Korra, what the hell! Why didn’t you say anything?! How long have you been standing there?!”

Korra doesn’t respond, just folds her arms over her chest, trying to calm herself down. She really didn’t need her emotions getting the best of her right now, but the brief happiness she felt at seeing Asami in her natural element has now been replaced by the slight apprehension she’s felt since she got here. She felt almost on the verge of tears, scared of what Asami might say in response to her question.

“Asami…why don’t you want me?” She asks under her breathe.

Asami cocks her head to the side and looks at Korra curiously.

“Huh? Korra, sweetie what are you talking about?”

“Why don’t you want me?” Korra repeats a little louder.

“I _do_ want you. Why are you…is everything okay?” Asami makes a stride towards her and stretches out to touch Korra, but Korra steps out of her reach.

“You put me in the guest room when I got here and at first, I thought it was because you wanted to make me feel more comfortable or something but now, I think it’s because you don’t want to sleep in the same bed as me. And you said you were tired last night, which I understand because it _has_ been a long week, but then you said you were tired again tonight and I just…I don’t know, I feel like you’re avoiding me, but I don’t know what I did to make you not want me anymore.”

“Korra, I’m not avoiding you, I-”

“Do you not want to have sex with me?” Korra blurts out. Asami’s eyes widen and she retracts her arm, taking a step back.

“ _Whoa_ …” She whispers, bringing a hand up to her forehead and then letting it slide down her cheek and tuck under her chin.

“Uhm…okay…I… _wow_ , I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s okay if you don’t Asami, I promise. I know not all couples have to have sex to be happy, and we never, ever have to if you don’t want to. I just…I really thought you wanted to because…when we were in your car, and my room, and then the treehouse…it just seemed like you-”

“Korra, I want to.” Asami cuts her off, looking at her intensely.

“Oh.” Korra says, the word coming out more like a breath.

The affirmation sends a rush of energy through Korra’s body, and she swallows to try and dislodge the sudden lump in her throat. Well, this changes everything. The way Asami was looking at her let Korra know that she was being honest. But if so, how come…

“How come you never tried to…or said anything.” Korra gives voice to the questions that have been floating through her head.

Asami laughs and reaches over to turn the stereo off, making the room suddenly silent. Korra feels as though she might drown in it.

“I did! At least…I thought I did.” She shrugs and leans against the bathroom sink. “I don’t usually have to do or say much when it comes to sex. Men usually get straight to the point.” She rolls her eyes and fake gags, causing Korra to smirk slightly.

“When I first kissed you in the car, I was trying to…I thought…” Asami blushes and shakes her head, as if trying to physically get rid of a thought. “You just seemed so nervous, and I didn’t want to make you feel pressured into doing something you didn’t want to. The whole car ride you couldn’t even look at me and I felt so _awful_. And then later on, when I said we should go to bed, you tensed up again, so I took that as a hint. I’m sorry I made you feel like I didn’t want you, Korra.” Asami looks up at her through her eyelashes and smiles shyly.

In hindsight, all of her actions made sense, of course, and Korra felt like a complete idiot at not catching onto things sooner. She really was clueless about everything, but Asami was so sweet to her. She would never make Korra feel bad.

“No, _I’m_ sorry for not just telling you I was nervous about…being with you, but…I mean, God Asami, it’s _you_. You’re so beautiful and…and experienced and I’ve never been with anyone like this before and I’m just…I’m scared I’m not gonna be good enough for you and you’ll leave me.”

Korra turns around to face away from Asami as a tear slips out and hurriedly wipes at her face. This was a horrible start to what was supposed to be the most romantic night of her life. She hated how volatile and out of control her emotions could get. Asami comes up and hugs her from behind, tucking her chin into her neck and tugging at Korra’s arms so that she would unfold them. She laces their fingers together and places soft kisses on the shell of Korra’s ear, making Korra shudder and let out a weak moan.

“You know, I’ve never been with a woman before…so this is new for me too.” She whispers seductively into Korra’s ear, flicking her tongue out to paint a hot, wet path along Korra’s jawline. “But you _are_ good enough for me, Korra. And I do want you. I want you so _much_. Let me show you.”

“ _Asami_.” Korra whimpers, pushing herself back against Asami’s body.

“Do you want to take this to the bed?”

“ _Please_.” Korra pants, aware of how desperate she sounded but completely beyond caring. The woman she had been yearning for since first arriving at Omashu was right in front of her (well, actually right _behind_ her…and grinding up against her in a way that made Korra want to scream), and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to be vocal about how much she wanted this. She feels Asami smirk against her neck before pushing Korra gently and telling her to walk to the bed. Korra clumsily makes her way forward until she reaches the foot of the bed and then turns around to face Asami.

Asami treads forward carefully until she’s standing right in front of Korra, searching her eyes for any objections or doubt. When she sees none, she pushes Korra down into a sitting position on the mattress and straddles her. Korra whines and reaches out to wrap her arms around Asami’s waist and pull her closer, making Asami chuckle.

“So eager…” She murmurs, leaning down and teasing Korra’s mouth open with her tongue. Korra moans as Asami languidly strokes her tongue against Korra’s, raking her fingers up and down Korra’s arms before eventually carding them through the base of hair at her neck and tugging. She struggles to keep from crying out at how good everything feels. It’s as if every single pore located on her body is open and alive, eating up each sensation they come across and multiplying the feeling tenfold. The air coming from the fan above feels like ice against her burning hot skin, the jasmine-scented candle that she could faintly smell burning in the background when she first stepped foot in Asami’s room now threatening to choke her with its intensity. She feels Asami lift up and then sink to her knees in between Korra’s legs and, without breaking the kiss, snake a hand down her side and start to pull up the hem of her shirt. Korra rips away from her to try and catch her breath, causing Asami to stop what she’s doing and look up at Korra questioningly.

“Is this good so far?”

Korra nods. “I just…I have lingerie.”

“You have it on right now?” Asami licks her lips and Korra tries not to faint.

“No, it’s in my bag. And I wanted tonight to be perfect.” She struggles to breath long enough to get the next part of her sentence out, but Asami’s finger toying with the part of her stomach that’s exposed from her lifted shirt makes this extremely challenging. “I can go put them on real qui-” Korra groans as Asami smashes their lips back together.

“You’re not leaving this room until I’m through with you. Is that understood?” Asami growls. Korra whimpers and nods her head again, leaning forward to press her lips back against Asami’s.

Asami tugs the bottom of her shirt up once more and Korra breaks apart from the kiss to lift her arms and allow Asami to take the shirt off. The cold air hits her bare chest, making her slightly hard nipples stiffen even more until they’re hard as stone. Asami lets out a gasp and cautiously raises her hand up, hovering over Korra’s breasts.

“You’re not wearing a bra.” She says it so quietly that Korra isn’t sure if she actually said anything or not. It’s then that she realizes how hard it is to hear over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, briefly wondering if Asami can hear it too.

Korra doesn’t respond to Asami’s statement, just arches her back slightly until she feels a hyper-sensitive nipple brush against Asami’s hand and lets out a long moan. Have her breasts always been this sensitive? Sure, they were a little tender when she was on her period, but definitely not to this degree. And her nipples were so _hard._ She could literally cut through a block of cement with them at this rate. Okay, fine. Maybe a block of cement was overexaggerating, but still they were pretty damn sharp, like honestly, was it natural for nipples to be this OH-

“Ahhhhh! Oh my _God_ …Asamiii. _Nnnhh_.” Korra cries out at the feeling of Asami enveloping a peak in her mouth, her tongue stroking over it lazily a few times before she starts to suck. She brings her other hand up to tease and play with Korra’s other breast, and Korra sobs, her hand coming up to squeeze around Asami’s wrist, a silent plea for her to not stop, _please never stop._

Asami moans with Korra’s breast still in her mouth, taking her free hand and running it along Korra’s right thigh. She releases Korra’s tit from her mouth with a wet _pop_ , and then makes her way to the other, her mouth still wet from her ministrations.

Korra can feel her stomach tightening familiarly and moans.

_Oh my God, am I gonna…am I gonna cum from this?_

Asami starts sucking on her breast and her stomach clenches again, this time followed by a stab of pleasure that travels down to her pussy. She gasps as she feels her walls contract and fluid leak out of her. If she questioned it before, she definitely had her answer now.

_Holy shit, I’m gonna cum from this. I’m gonna cum if she doesn’t stop, I…_

Just as she’s at the brink and peering over the edge, Asami releases her breast from her hands and mouth and then stands up.

“Asami.” Korra gasps.

“Scoot to the center of the bed and get on your knees facing the headboard.” Asami commands, her voice an octave lower than normal. Her tone sends chills down Korra’s spine and causes her skin to prickle out into goosebumps. Eager to comply, she scoots back and gets on her knees, feeling the bed dip as Asami crawled to be behind her. She gasps when she feels Asami’s bare chest touching her burning back, her nipples rigid and piercing against Korra’s sensitive skin.

“You’re so beautiful, Korra.” Asami mutters in her ear as her hands come up to cradle Korra’s breasts from behind. She grinds into Asami as best as she can, arching her back to press her breasts harder into Asami’s hands before covering them with her own and squeezing. Small whimpers and pants fall out of her mouth against her will.

“How do you want me to touch you?” Asami slides her hands down until they’re flat against Korra’s stomach, using her fingers to trace irregular patterns into it. Korra moans and pushes Asami’s hands to go lower until she’s hovering right above the hem of her pajama shorts.

“Please, Asami. _Please_.”

“Like this?” Asami asks before teasingly drawing a circle on the material of her pajama shorts, right where Korra’s clit is. Korra gasps and tries to grind herself against Asami’s fingers, but Asami chuckles and pulls her hand away, only to snake it underneath her shorts and panties, running her fingers through Korra’s wetness. Before Korra has the chance to be self-conscious about the state of her pubic hair, Asami slides her fingers back up and starts rubbing small circles around Korra’s clit.

“ _FUCK_!” Korra yells and throws her head back to rest against Asami’s shoulder. Asami rubs at the space in between her legs, kneads her breast with her free hand and sucks on her neck. Korra is helpless against her attack, her instincts taking over and her body switching to autopilot as she grinds without abandon into Asami’s nimble fingers. She would be embarrassed at how pathetic she probably looked and sounded if it didn’t feel so good, and _Christ_ did it feel good. Asami wasn’t doing anything that she hadn’t done to herself, but Korra had never felt as near explosive as she did right now. Asami’s touches were like those sharp stabs of electricity that you felt whenever you rubbed your socks against the carpet and then went to go touch your friend as a prank, except Korra could feel the shocks all over and they felt _good_ , so so so so incredibly _good_ , and she hates that her vocabulary is limited to that one stupid, rudimentary word, but there’s no other word she can use to describe this because, _shit_ , she’s close, she’s so _close_.

“You gonna come for me, baby? Tell me how bad you wanna come for me, Korra.” A voice rasps into her ear. Was that Asami? She’s pretty sure that’s Asami’s voice, even though it sounds completely different, but honestly, she can’t think about anything other than what’s going on between her legs right now. Nonetheless, she gurgles out an answer, hoping she’s coherent enough for the owner of the voice to get the message. _Yes_ , she’s gonna come for you. She wants to come for you so bad, she’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t stop, don’t stop. Please, please, _please_ don’t stop.

Asami feels so hot against her, her nipples sliding across Korra’s sweaty back as she humps into Korra from behind and rubs her hand faster and faster. She stops kneading her breast with her other hand and slowly slides it down Korra’s stomach, down past the hand rubbing fast enough to start a fire over her clit, down even lower until she reaches the opening of her-

“ _Asamiiiiiiiiii.”_ Korra screams as she feels a long finger slowly slide into her, curling just so and sending her straight over the edge. She feels herself convulsing around the lone digit and a dam breaks in her stomach, fire spilling forth and scorching throughout her entire body. Korra swears her soul departs from her momentarily, the intensity of her orgasm too much for all of her to handle in one piece. She doesn’t realize how loud she’s been yelling until her soul comes back down from its short trip to heaven and she feels her sore throat protest against her continued use of it. She’s shaking so hard that she can barely hold herself up anymore. Gravity ultimately wins the battle, and she collapses into Asami’s arms.

“Korra! Korra, sweetie, are you okay? Korra, look at me.”

Hearing the concern in Asami’s voice encourages her to force her eyes open, which is more difficult of a task than it should be. Asami is leaning over her, hand gently stroking the side of Korra’s face. Korra can feel the sticky wetness from her own essence on Asami’s fingers and, running on pure carnal instinct, reaches up to stop Asami from stroking her face. She lifts her finger up to her mouth and lazily sucks on the digit , a debauched attempt to clean up the mess she had just made.

In a flash, the look on Asami’s face goes from concern to unadulterated lust, and she moans when Korra flicks her tongue out and rolls it around the point of Asami’s index finger.

“Korraaaa.”

“Why am I so tired?” Korra asks. She didn’t mean to say it out loud and ruin the mood, but it was a genuine question and the connection between her brain and her mouth had been severed, so there was no telling what she would say right now. When she first started masturbating, she discovered that she got sleepy after her orgasms, but this was an entirely new level of exhaustion. Her bones literally felt like mush.

Asami laughs and removes her hand from Korra’s, then rolls them around so that they were both laying on their sides and she was hugging Korra from behind.

“I guess it’s because I was _that_ good.”

“You weren’t _that_ good. I’m just sensitive.” Korra mumbles. She knew that Asami knew she was lying but she still wanted to shove her ego down a few notches.

“Oh _really_? That’s definitely not what you were screaming a couple minutes ago.” Asami purrs into her ear. “In fact, I distinctly remember you telling me how good I was… _and_ begging me not to stop. Not bad for my first time, huh?”

Korra feels her neck flush in embarrassment; she didn’t know she had been saying all that out loud. When she can’t offer a retort, Asami _humphs_ in victory and then snuggles in closer to Korra.

“Wait, Asami. I wanna do you.” Korra whines in protest and tries to get out of Asami’s hold, but her arms won’t listen to her commands to move. It’s like cement was poured over her limbs and drying rapidly, gluing her down to the spot.

“You can do me later, Korra. You can’t even move right now, I’ll be okay.” Asami chuckles into her hair and squeezes her arms around Korra tighter.

“ _Asami_.” She tries to lift her arm again but it’s useless. Exhaustion begins to creep in and her eyes droop against her will.

“Baby, tomorrow. I promise. Go to sleep.” Asami reaches up to stroke Korra’s hair and that turns out to be the last straw. Korra releases a soft breath as she allows sleep to take over.

“This isn’t over, Miss Sato.” She says as a last-ditch effort of defiance. She faintly registers movement against her back that she takes to be Asami chuckling before the world around her fades to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the smut wasn’t too bad to read, it’s my first time writing it, so I heavily relied on previous smut fics that I’ve encountered lmaooo. I had no idea how hard it would be to describe doing the “thing” in a sexy way without being too vulgar or too cheesy???? Avid smut writers are actually incredible???? WOW. Also, I saw a lot of ppl saying that I was hinting at Korra possibly being a top in the last chapter?? First of all, your minds. Second of all, It’s the way I wasn’t trying to purposely hint at that, but I had plans on slowly having it happen over time (more so in the sequel), as she got more comfortable having sex LOL  
> Link to [MyTumblr ;)>](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/korrasami-enthusiast)


	21. Sofia-Clairo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few bumps in the road makes Asami doubt the security of their relationship, but Korra really thinks they could do it if they tried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Sofia, know that you and I shouldn't feel like a crime~

The time on the clock is the first thing Korra registers when she pops her eyes open. _2:30am_. All her other senses come in slowly, and Korra allows her body to re-familiarize itself with her surroundings. There’s a tingle in her arm from being in the same position over her head for hours. She hears the sound of someone breathing evenly next to her side, then feels the weight of an arm across her stomach, the silky-smooth hair that brushes across her neck, followed by the tickle of breath as the person breathes in and out. Korra grins and brings her arm down to rest on top of Asami’s, last night’s festivities rushing back to her. It was as if Asami was everywhere at once, all the feelings so intense that Korra couldn’t process exactly what was happening.

She could still feel Asami pressed into her back, her hands on her most intimate areas, bringing her so much pleasure that she felt dizzy just thinking about it right now. _And they’ve barely even scratched the surface…_

Korra tries to suppress the shudder that runs through her body. She looks at the clock again and sees that only five minutes have gone by since she’s woken up. Asami is still sound asleep, and Korra doesn’t want to wake her, but she _really_ wants to pick up from where they left off last night. She’s still upset that her body gave out on her before she got the chance to explore Asami. Even though Asami seemed to be understanding, it was still embarrassing, and she felt the need to redeem herself. She was by no means an expert, but after spending almost three weeks diligently perusing the internet for tips and tricks on getting a woman off, Korra feels like she at least has a good idea about where to start. If only Asami would wake the hell up so she could try.

Korra tries her hardest, like honestly, she _really_ tries her hardest to fall back asleep, or at least just lie there and just be content with the feeling of Asami in her arms, but she images from last night keep flashing through her mind. The way Asami’s hands felt on her, her tongue running over her nipples, her breath hot in Korra’s ear as she ordered Korra to cum for her. It’s too much. She wants Asami, and she wants her _now_. Giving in, she shifts to reposition herself and face Asami, then lifts up with the intention of waking her when suddenly, she feels a rush of fluid threaten to leak out of her.

_No. Noooo, no, no, no, no, PLEASE no._

Cursing quietly, Korra gingerly removes Asami’s arm from her stomach and then rolls off the bed, giving a small laugh at Asami’s groans of protest. She swoops down to grab her shirt off the floor, and then tiptoes to the bathroom. Shuting the door, she pulls her shorts and panties down and perches on the toilet to assess the damage. Her eyes squeeze shut as she looks down, hoping that maybe it wasn’t what she thought it was. Maybe she had gotten a little excited thinking about what Asami did to her last night and her body was reacting to that. Please just let it be that. _Please_.

Korra looked down and groaned when her eyes took in the big, red spot on her panties. _Shit. DAMN IT._

She wasn’t due to start her period for another two days and she was usually always right on schedule, never starting a day earlier or later than her tracker predicted. She doesn’t know what higher entity she pissed off enough ruin the rest of her weekend with Asami, but she cursed them out regardless. Sighing, Korra stood up and made quick work of cleaning her panties out in Asami’s tub and then scrummaged around her cabinet in search of a tampon.

Once she got herself together, she snuck out of the bathroom and checked to make sure Asami was still asleep, then slipped out the bedroom door to get to the guest room. After hanging her panties to dry on the towel rack in the guest bathroom, she fishes out a new pair from her tote bag and then puts on her pajama pants, thanking God that she brought an extra set as an afterthought.

Korra slithers back into Asami’s room only to find that she’s still knocked out and has to keep herself from laughing too loudly; she really was a heavy sleeper. Leaning over her curled-up body, Korra took a moment to admire how innocent and vulnerable Asami looked while she slept. Her face was relaxed, her mouth open as she snored softly, her hair fanned out over the pillow underneath her. She was so beautiful, so surreal. And she was Korra’s.

Korra grinned at the thought, then bent down to kiss Asami’s neck. So, she might not be able to be touched by Asami anymore this weekend, but that didn’t mean that _she_ couldn’t touch Asami, and she planned on doing just that, as many times as she could before they had to go back to Omashu.

Asami moaned and then rolled over onto her back, her nose scrunched up as her hands tried to locate the source of the kissing attack. Korra giggled and climbed to lay on top of her, peppering kisses all over her face until Asami finally opened her eyes. She could see the bright, jade-green eyes clearly with the moonlight that shone through the bedroom window and smiled when Asami wrapped long arms around her neck and pulled her down into a kiss.

“Hi.” Korra whispered when they finally broke apart, tucking a piece of Asami’s hair behind her ear.

“Hi.” Asami grinned and then slid her hands down Korra’s body to land on her thighs, rubbing small circles into them. Korra felt a shudder rip through her, and Asami must have felt it too. Her eyes darkened and she bit her bottom lip. Before she can do anything however, Korra grabs Asami’s hands and puts them over her head.

“You said I could go first, remember?”

“Korraaaa. Just let me touch you.” Asami pleads. She can feel herself getting turned on by Asami’s pleas, but she tries to ignore it. It was her turn now; there was no way she would go back to Omashu without redeeming herself.

“No, Asami. You _promised_.” Korra let go of her hands and then sat up, shrugging sheepishly, “Plus, I started my period.” She muttered.

Asami considered her for a moment, then pouted and leaned up to kiss her cheek.

She laid back down and then spread her arms back out above her head, offering herself up to Korra.

“Fine then. I’m all yours.” She said seductively.

Korra nearly moaned at the sight of Asami laying out like this for her. She sprang into action, jumping up off of Asami and pushing the blankets out of the way so that she had a clear view of her body. Asami giggled at her eagerness, but Korra paid it no mind; she finally had permission to do whatever she wanted, and there was nothing she wanted more than to make Asami scream the way she had been screaming last night. She was so excited she didn’t know where to start.

She decides to start on her legs, running her hands up and down Asami’s shins until she reaches her thighs and then squeezes.

“I’ve always liked your legs.” Korra mutters, and Asami lets out a quiet whimper. Korra takes her time massaging Asami’s thighs, pressing into the flesh lightly with her thumbs and rubbing in circles. Asami is wiggling so much underneath her, as if she can’t help it. She’s never felt this powerful before and is giddy with the knowledge that the woman she yearns for so much seems to want her just as bad.

She finally makes her way to Asami’s upper body, leaning down to kiss her while she scrapes her fingernails lightly up her stomach and then down her arms, locking their hands together and then pulling Asami into a sitting position. Korra pulls away slightly, reaching for the hem of Asami’s shirt and looking up at her, asking for approval. Asami eagerly nods her head and then lifts her arms, allowing Korra to pull the shirt off completely.

“ _Whoa.”_ Korra breathes out on accident as she takes in Asami’s nude form. Asami lays back down and watches Korra as she tries to process what she’s seeing.

“You can touch me if you want to.” Asami whispers her permission, and Korra realizes that she’s been staring for a while now. Oh, shit, right. Staring for too long is weird. She can’t exactly help it though. She’s never seen another pair of tits besides her own. Okay well, maybe she had during her research on lesbian sex some years ago (12-year-old her was curious, Okay?!) and then Kya’s, but that was only in passing, and besides Korra really didn’t want to think about that right now. Not when Asami’s were right here in front of her, noticeably pink and perky, even in the dim moonlight, her nipples visibly stiffening in the cold air. She finally gave in to the urge to reach out and palm one, and this time, she actually _does_ moan out loud. They’re so _soft_ and warm. Is this how her breasts had felt? And they were kind of big. A lot bigger than she thought they would be anyways. She reaches her other hand out to squeeze Asami’s other breast, getting used to the feeling of them in her hands. Experimentally, she rolls her thumbs over the peaks and bites her lip when Asami lets out a low moan.

 _Would she like it if I sucked hers the way she sucked mine last night?_ There was only one way to find out.

She leaned down and tentatively licked at the nipple closest to her, then enveloped her mouth around it, alternating between sucking and licking.

“ _Ahhh_.” Asami threw her head back and clutched onto Korra’s shoulder, arching up as if trying to put more of herself into Korra’s mouth. _Okay cool, I think she likes it._

Korra moans and starts rolling the nipple of Asami’s unattended breast between her thumb and index finger. She kept up her ministrations, alternating between each breast and trying to see what different sounds she could coax out of Asami. She did this until her mouth was kind of sore from sucking and sat up to catch her breath and wipe the spit that had dribbled down her chin off. She snuck a glance up at Asami and her stomach clenched. Asami was looking at her through half-lidded eyes, her cheeks red and her chest heaving up and down as she took short but forceful breaths. One of her arms was still flung over her head, and when she made eye contact with Korra, she snaked her tongue out to lick her lips.

_“Korraaa…please._ I need you _. Pleeease.”_ Asami whined, thrusting her hips up towards Korra, just in case she didn’t get the message. Korra swallowed and nodded her head. This was it; the moment she’d been desperately wanting and yet dreading at the same time.

_What if I’m not good at this?_

She fumbled with the strings to Asami’s pajama shorts until they came loose.

_What if I get down there and freeze up and ruin everything?_

She pulled the shorts down and Asami lifted up slightly to help her. Korra’s mouth goes dry when she sees that there is no other layer of clothing underneath. Asami is utterly and completely naked now.

_Oh God, what if I can’t make her cum?_

Asami spreads her legs and Korra releases a breath. _Ho-ly. Fucking. Shit._

“Korra…you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

She glances up to find Asami propped up on her elbows and gazing at her, concern clear on her face. It’s only then that Korra realizes she’s been stuck in the same position for at least thirty seconds. 

“What? No, _hush_. I wanna do this, just give me a minute.” Korra demands. Asami laughs breathily and then settles her head back down against the pillows.

“Alright then, Captain, you have full control of the vessel. Full steam ahead.”

“Oh my God, _please_ shut up.”

Korra tries not to roll her eyes, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand. She takes a minute to admire Asami’s mound, as if trying to burn the image into the deepest, darkest part of her brain. Seeing another person’s vagina this up close and personal was a little jarring. She could count on one hand how many times she had pulled out a mirror to inspect her own, and even then, her view was a little obstructed and she would always stop after a couple minutes out of embarrassment. But now she had a front row seat to the show, and the hostess was waiting for her to make a move.

There was a small patch of curly black hair that had been waxed into a landing strip, and right beneath it Asami’s clit poked out from her hood, pink and swollen with arousal. She was glistening with wetness; so much so that Korra could see some of the liquid oozing down from her slit and dripping onto the bed beneath her.

She took two fingers and parted Asami’s lips, delicately dragging them up and down each wet fold, relishing the way Asami’s breath hitched.

“Does that feel good?” Korra asked, keeping up her massage. _Why does my voice sound so low?_

“Yeeesss, baby. That feels so good Korra, _please_.” Asami pants.

Satisfied with her answer, Korra continued what she was doing until, out of curiosity, she brought her fingers up to her mouth and sucked them in, wanting to see what Asami tasted like. It didn’t really taste like anything. Maybe a little salty, with a hint of whatever soap Asami had used earlier (Was that vanilla? Why did this woman love the smell of vanilla so much?), but overall, it wasn’t really anything extraordinary. What _was_ extraordinary was Asami’s reaction to Korra tasting her.

“ _Korra_! Please baby, inside. Put your-” Asami gasps when Korra starts gently stroking her clit. “Please get inside me, Korra. _Please.”_ She moans.

“Well, well, well. Look who’s eager now.” Korra teases, but finally gives in, letting her index finger go lower until it probed at Asami’s entrance, slipping inside with no resistance. She groaned at the feeling of Asami clenching around her, but as she slowly pumped her finger in and out, she felt like something about this wasn’t right. This wasn’t how she wanted to make Asami come.

“Asami, can you sit on my face?” Korra asks suddenly. Asami blinks at her for a second, seeming a little thrown off by her request.

“You want me to…”

“Yea…unless you don’t…want to? I just… I figured maybe it’d be the best position because I really wanna taste you, but you’d still be in control which would be good because I honestly have no idea what I’m doing but I _really_ wanna make you feel good and I-” Asami covers Korra’s mouth with her hand to stop her from talking more.

“Lay down.” Asami commands and then moves away to let Korra reposition herself. Korra hastily scoots to the head of the bed and lies back on the pillows, then waits for Asami to come to her. She watches through her eyelashes as Asami crawls up her body, looking like a lioness that was about to catch her helpless prey. Asami finally makes her way up to Korra’s face and then spreads her legs, placing her knees on either side of Korra’s head and holding onto the headboard. Instinctively, Korra wraps her hands around Asami’s thighs and then looked up, waiting for directions.

“This okay so far?” Asami huffs out. Korra responds with a nod and glances down, her vision now focused on Asami’s pussy hovering over her face. She licks her lips unconsciously.

“Stick your tongue out.” Korra obeys, moaning in tandem with Asami as she sunk down onto Korra’s tongue and slowly began rocking her hips. She squeezes her hands even tighter around Asami’s thighs and juts her mouth up every time Asami sinks back down onto her tongue, trying to get the muscle to go even deeper.

“ _Fuuuuuck_ Korra, this feels so _good_. Just like that...ahhhh _yes_ , baby just like _that!_ ” Asami gasps and throws her head back, rolling her hips slightly faster. Korra feels like she’s barely even doing anything, but then again, that’s why she wanted it like this. Asami was in full control of what happened to her and all Korra had to do was keep her tongue stiff enough to do the job. Well…she supposes she could try to do something else too, maybe help speed this process up a bit. Her tongue was starting to feel a little strained from her effort to keep it firm as Asami bounced up and down on it.

Tentatively, she stroked her tongue through Asami’s slit, moaning as juices spilled down her chin. She licks her way up to Asami’s clit and wraps her lips around it, sucking lightly. Asami cries out and her hips stutter. She reaches her hands down to claw one through Korra’s hair, tugging it roughly. The other came to rest on top of Korra’s hand, weaving their fingers together and then squeezing hard. Korra grunts a little from the sharp pain but doesn’t stop what she’s doing, instead sucking even harder and then bringing her free hand around to slip a finger into Asami. That seems to do the trick (much to her aching jaw’s relief). Asami yelps and announces that she’s coming, pulling Korra’s hair hard enough to rip off her scalp.

Korra listens to Asami falling apart in awe, amazed that she could have this much of an effect on a someone. Asami moans her name over and over again, until it almost sounds like a chant. By the end of it, her voice started to sound a little hoarse. She waits until Asami stops contracting around her finger before she slides it all the way out and then licks it clean, taking back what she said earlier about Asami’s taste. It was, in fact, the best thing she had ever tasted. It was more than extraordinary, it was soul-shatteringly exquisite, and she never wanted to stop tasting it. She would drown in it willingly if ever given the chance.

Asami shudders one last time and then plops down onto the bed next to her, gulping in air like she was a fish out of water. Korra grins, feeling extremely self-satisfied. For her first given orgasm, she thinks it’s safe to say she did a pretty good job.

“You know I had a dream about that?” Korra confesses, her eyes still trained on the ceiling as Asami continues struggling to catch her breath.

“About what? Eating me out?” She wheezes out a laugh and then finally turns her face towards Korra.

“Yea. Well, it was about you sitting on my face specifically, but yea.”

Asami laughs again and then rolls to lean over Korra’s face, smiling before she plants a kiss on her lips.

“I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard before.” She hums.

“Good.” Korra says in response. She wraps her arms around Asami’s waist, flipping them so that she was on top.

“You think you can handle another round then?”

**********************************

The sound of locker doors clicking open and slamming shut thunders down the hallway as Korra speedily tries to make her way to Biology and escape from Kya’s rapid-fire succession of questions. She fails, of course, and eventually Kya has an iron grip on her wrist and is shoving her into the nearest empty bathroom. She locks the door and checks the stalls to make sure it’s empty, before turning around to smirk at Korra.

“You _have_ to tell me everything. Now!”

“Kya, I’m pretty sure it’s against code of conduct to lock the bathroom-”

“Shut up! I wouldn’t even have to go this far if you didn’t knock out as soon as you got back. So, you guys did it!?”

Korra sighs, but if she’s being honest with herself, she does kind of want to talk to Kya about it. She just lost her virginity! This was the kind of thing that friends talked about with each other, right? Although Kya frustrated her sometimes with how she always tried to make her ruffled, she trusted Kya to not make her actually feel bad about things. She felt a smile break across her face against her will and rolled her eyes when Kya let out a squeal.

“Yes, Kya. We…we had sex.” Korra whispers the last part, still not sure if they were actually alone in the bathroom.

“Korra! Oh. My. GOD, you have to tell me everything! Did you eat her out or did you finger her? Both? Is she a screamer? I’ve actually always wondered-”

“Kya!”

“How was she? Is she good in bed? I bet she’s a fuckin’ beast in bed, she looks like she dominates-”

“Kya, I’m not telling you all that, stop it-”

“She looked really happy in class today too, you know that post-orgasmic weekend glow. Damn Korra, you’re gonna have to show me your sec-”

There’s a loud knock on the bathroom door, followed by someone yelling for them to hurry up. Korra sighs in relief and then turns to glare at Kya, who’s grinning back at her, completely unashamed.

“I’m not talking to you about sex anymore, so don’t ask.”

“Awwww Korra, come on. You know I’m just fucking with you.”

They make their way out the bathroom, ignoring the line of girls that shot daggers at them as they ran down the hallway, giggling. Kya drops Korra off in front of her class and then hugs her goodbye.

“I’m really happy for you Korra.” Kya says into her ear, pulling away to beam at her. Korra shrugs and gives her a small smile, muttering her thanks.

“But this conversation isn’t over! I’m talking to you before we go to bed tonight!”

Kya brings two fingers up to her eyes and then points them at Korra before turning around and running off to her class. Korra rolls her eyes. Of course, Kya just _had_ to ruin a potentially heartfelt moment with her nonsense. She takes a deep breath as she prepares herself to enter Asami’s classroom.

If it was hard to not be obvious when they first started dating, it was even harder for Korra now that they had been intimate. Asami shooting her a small smile when she first stepped into the classroom was enough to make her stumble slightly as she made her way to her seat. She wore her glasses to class today, and Korra couldn’t help but feel like she did it on purpose, knowing that Korra found her nearly irresistible with her glasses on. Everything that came out of Asami’s mouth sounded like sex. The vibration of her heels clicking against the linoleum floor as she paces the classroom seems to travel straight in between Korra’s legs, and she swears Asami’s signature perfume smells ten times stronger today. By the time the bell rings to signify the end of class, Korra is nearly dizzy with arousal. It takes all her strength not to throw Asami onto her desk and ravage her. Instead, she waits for all the students to file out before making her way to the front of the classroom.

She notices Asami glance towards the door before looking up at Korra and smiling.

“Hi Korra. How can I help you?” She asks, her tone curt and polite.

“Hi Miss Sato.” Korra chirped, moving some papers out of the way and hopping up onto the desk to sit in front of Asami, slightly to her right. She crosses her legs, exposing the part of her thigh that wasn’t covered by her tights and doesn’t miss the way Asami’s eyes flash down to her legs before coming back up to her face.

“I was just wondering what you were doing for Valentine’s Day. I think it’s on a weekend this year.” Korra smiles and bats her eyelashes innocently. Asami clears her throat and leans back in her chair, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap. She shrugs nonchalantly.

“Nothing much. Probably gonna be at home all day. Maybe order some take-out What about you?” Asami smiles and Korra bites her lips at the hidden meaning underneath Asami’s words. God, she couldn’t wait until Valentine’s day weekend.

“I think I might go out.” Asami raises an eyebrow but Korra goes on. “By myself, of course. To Ming’s dumplings, have you heard of it? It’s in the next town over, and super obscure, so the chances of running into people are really low…”

Asami frowns and Korra’s heart plummets out of her chest, falling straight into the garbage pin Asami kept next to her desk.

“Asami, please.” Korra begs, dropping the charade.

“Korra we really shouldn’t…it’s too risky.”

“It’s in the next town over and the restaurant isn’t super fancy or well-known. I looked it up.” Okay, maybe she didn’t exactly _look_ it up like online or anything, but Kya had mentioned that her and Lin used to frequent the restaurant a lot, so it sounded like the perfect place to have a secret date. Seriously, who were they gonna run into at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on _Valentine’s Day_?

“I can’t, Korra. I’m sorry, I just can’t risk it, I-”

“I’ll pay for everything, Asami. And we can meet up there separately and then leave together to go to your house.” She slinks down to settle on her knees right in front of Asami, gently lifting her skirt up and prying her legs open, running her tongue along the inside of Asami’s thigh.

“ _Korra.”_ Asami squeaks, nervously glancing up at the door. She gasps when Korra reaches her panties, running her tongue up the cotton material, lingering on the point where she knows Asami’s clit is. Korra moans when she feels Asami start getting wet enough to soak through her panties. Asami spreads her legs a little wider, trying to give Korra better access but Korra pulls her head back and looks up at Asami.

“And I’ll make it up to you later that night. _Please,_ Asami.” Korra begs.

Asami groans and squeezes her eyes shut. After a beat, she finally nods her head and Korra pops up from the ground, squealing in excitement and hugging her.

“You won’t regret this ‘Sami, I promise.”

Asami sighs and rubs her hand across her temple. She gives Korra a weary smile.

“I better not. Now get out my classroom.”

Korra gathers her backpack and gym bag from her desk, looking back to smile at Asami one more time before she hurries out of the classroom. In her rush to leave, she doesn’t notice Azula coming towards the door and bumps right into her, knocking all the papers out of her hands, making them scatter all over the floor.

“Damn it, watch where the hell you’re going!” Azula glares at her and then begins picking up the mess Korra had made.

“I’m so sorry, Azula! Here, let me help you.” Korra bends down to help but Azula swats her hand away.

“I can do it myself. Just leave before you make things worse. Aren’t you late to P.E. or something?” Azula grumbles. Korra tilts her head in confusion.

“How did you know I have P.E. next period?”

Azula pauses for a brief second and Korra barely registers the flash of panic cross her face before her expression returns to one of indifference. She juts her chin towards Korra’s gym bag on the ground.

“Unless you carry that thing around for fun, then I’m pretty sure you have P.E. next. Or maybe you really are too dumb to figure out how to use a locker.” Azula said icily. Korra couldn’t keep the blush from spreading across her face as she rubbed her neck in embarrassment.

“Yea…I guess you got me there.” She mutters. Korra figured she probably misread Azula’s earlier reaction. Why would she be panicked about knowing Korra had P.E. next? Now that she thinks about it, it was kind of obvious that she was heading to P.E. next since she had her gym bag. Clearly her deductive reasoning skills were eons behind Azula’s. Even though Azula claimed to not need her help, Korra still swooped up the remaining papers that had blown further down the hallway. She stands up to dust herself and walks over to Azula, who has a sour expression on her face. As she hands them over to Azula, their fingers brush together briefly, and she swears she sees Azula stiffen and an unreadable emotion flits through her eyes. Okay, there was no way Korra imagined or misread that. What was wrong with her? Korra reaches out to touch Azula on her arm in concern, but just as she’s about to open her mouth to ask if everything was fine, the classroom door swings open and Asami pokes her head out into the hallway. Azula jumps away from Korra’s touch as if her hand was on fire. Korra looks over to Asami and is surprised to see her with her lips pursed and her eyes squinted slightly at Azula. The expression is quickly replaced with a small smile when Azula looks at her. At this point, Korra feels like she’s in the twilight zone. _What the hell is going on today?_

“Hey girls. I heard a commotion out here. Is everything okay?” Asami asks.

Azula nods her head, using a voice as sweet as syrup to address Asami.

“Of course, Miss Sato. Korra just bumped into me on accident, but everything’s all good now. I was just coming to drop off these papers to you. There’s a few things that Headmaster Zhu Li wanted me to explain.”

Asami nods and gestures for Azula to come into the classroom. Azula skips right in, not even sparing Korra a second glance. Asami smiles softly at Korra and waves goodbye, then shuts the classroom door, leaving a baffled Korra out in the hallway.

******************************

~Asami~

Asami pulled into the parking lot of the dingy looking restaurant, bracing her hands on the steering wheel and trying to focus on her breathing. She looked over to stare at the restaurant, taking in the dingy sign that boosted the logo and name, the tattered-up screen door that served as the entrance. She let out a short laugh. Korra really hadn’t been kidding when she said it wasn’t “super fancy”. She suddenly felt extremely dressed up in her figure-hugging, red evening gown with her gold crystal-drop earring and necklace set to match. At least no one would find them here. As comforting as the thought was (or should have been anyways), it still did nothing to stop the _thump_ of Asami’s heart in her chest.

Going out with Korra like this was a big risk. Even if this restaurant was a town over, it still wasn’t far away enough, and it was a small world. There really was no telling who they might run into at any moment. On top of that, her father had been calling her off the hook recently. It was to the point where she had to block his number, but there have been instances in the past where he had actually sent people out to look for her when he couldn’t get a hold of her. The last thing she ever needed was her dad finding out what she was up to with Korra.

Thinking about that sobers her up almost instantly. She couldn’t do this. Korra would be extremely upset, no doubt about that, but Asami had to think about her future for once. It was one thing to even be dating Korra (if you could call it that), but to be in public with it? That was entirely too much.

A knock on her window startles her out of her thoughts and Asami turns to peer outside. Korra has her hands cupped around the window is smiling at Asami, telling her to come outside. Asami rolls the window down, offering Korra a tight-lipped smile, not looking forward to the possible argument her resolution might bring forth.

“Korra, I-” She’s cut off by Korra kissing her, cupping her face and stroking her cheek gently with her thumb.

“Hey ‘Sami. How long have you been out here? I’ve got us a table and everything, come on.” Korra pecks her on the lips once more and then bounces away, yelling over her shoulder for Asami to hurry up.

Asami sighs and rolls the window back up, preparing to get out of the car. She really didn’t feel like hurting Korra’s feelings. Tonight would be the only night they could do this, and then from here on out, Asami would put her foot down on any more public outings until Korra officially graduated from Omashu. There was too much at stake for her to be easily convinced to do things like this. She scolded herself for always folding when it came to Korra, but there was just something about her that made Asami never want to disappoint her. She loved seeing Korra happy and excited like how she was tonight, and she couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across her face as Korra held the restaurant door open for her and then linked their hands together to lead them to their booth in the back.

They talk amicably for a couple minutes until the hostess comes up and drops of their waters, promising them that their server would be with them in a couple minutes.

Korra’s in the middle of an animated tale about the time her little brother Bato got caught peeing inside the kitchen sink, when their waiter finally arrives at their table, ready to take their orders. Asami looks over at him casually, but then whips her head back around to do a double take. This could _not_ be happening right now. Out of all people to catch them right in the act…

“Welcome to Ming’s Dumplings! My name is Kuzon and I’ll be your server for tonight. What can I get started for you lad-… _Korra_?”

Korra looks up in surprise upon hearing her name but almost immediately her eyes flicker over to Asami, most likely to see her reaction. Asami had been frozen ever since she figured out exactly who their server was, her brain still undecided on whether she should fight or take flight.

“Kuzon! What…what on earth are you doing _here_?” Korra recovers quickly enough and plasters a huge smile onto her face.

“Oh man, this is wild. I never thought I would see anyone I know come in here. My cousin owns this place and she let me start working here. I picked up an extra shift on Valentine’s day because I didn’t have any plans.” Kuzon shrugs and smiles at Korra bashfully. He finally turns to Asami, offering her a smile but Asami can see the question clear in his eyes.

 _Shit._ They should’ve come up with a lie about why they were out together (on _Valentine’s day, no less)_ just in case what was _literally_ happening right now, happened to them. Why hadn’t they thought to come up with a reasonable excuse?!

 _Probably because you don’t usually make it a habit to sleep around with your students,_ Asami thought bitterly to herself.

“Hey Miss Sato. It’s nice to see you too. What are you guys doing here?”

Think, Asami. Think! What are you doing out on Valentine’s day with your student, a town over from the school she attends in a dingy, unknown restaurant wearing an evening gown and with your hair and makeup done really nice?

“I had a friend date with Kya. For ‘Galentine’s day’ ” Korra cuts in, answering for her. Asami raises her eyebrows as she listens to Korra weave an intricate spider web of a lie about Kya getting sick and them calling Asami away from a charity event to take Kya back to the academy. She wraps up the lie by stating that she was hungry and had asked Asami if she could still go out to eat with her, hence them being there, in their current state.

Asami is impressed with Korra’s quick thinking. She looks over to Kuzon and sees that he’s eaten it right up. Or maybe he never really cared for the truth anyways. From the way he’s looking at Korra, it’s as if she could tell him that she’s friends with a magical fairy who rides around on a unicorn eating stardust all day long and he’d believe her. Asami feels the familiar tinges of jealousy start rising up again, her hands clenching into fists at her sides against her will. She couldn’t watch this anymore; She was going to be sick.

“I’m gonna head to the powder room real quick.” She announces. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Korra look at her with worry but Kuzon distracts her into another conversation before Korra can call after her. If she was even going to do that.

Once Asami is in the bathroom, she locks the door and turns the faucet on, leaning against the sink and trying not to hyperventilate. Oh, this was just _rich_. Did she manifest this or something? How is it that the _one_ thing she begged the universe to _not_ allow to happen, happened? Luckily it was only Kuzon and Korra had come up with that lie quick enough, but _still._

Thinking of Kuzon sent another wave of jealousy through her and Asami squeezed her eyes shut, trying to rid herself of this. She wasn’t the jealous type. If anything, every other relationship she had been in, it was always the other person complaining about the attention that she got. So _why_ was this affecting her so much? All she could think about was Korra perched on top of his lap in the music room, grinding into him, _kissing_ him so passionately. She liked him, right? Korra was still new to relationships and sex and lust. There was no way she would grind on top of some random stranger just for the fun of it. She had to have some sort of feelings for him to have done that.

Asami angrily wipes away a tear that had escaped and grits her teeth. This was most likely for the best. Kuzon was safe, and he was sweet and clearly head over heels for Korra. He would treat her right, would offer Korra more than secret, dingy restaurant dates and sneaking away from campus to stay holed up in her house having sex. That’s literally all her relationship with Korra was. She had to end this now, before things got out of hand. Korra deserved better than her.

There’s a tentative knock at the bathroom door and Asami shuts the faucet off, realizing that she’s been in here for quite some time. She cracks the bathroom door open to find Korra standing outside, giving her a timid smile.

“I think I wanna go home.” She whispers.

Asami sniffles and nods her head. “Back to Omashu?”

Korra shakes her head vigorously. “No.”

Asami pauses, but then sighs once she sees the look on Korra’s face.

“Alright, just…just give me a minute to freshen up, okay?”

*********************************

~Korra~

The car ride back to Asami’s place is silent, with Korra cursing herself for being stupid and forcing Asami to go out in public with her. She had been so sure that it was a fool-proof date plan. But even worse than getting caught was Asami’s demeanor at the moment. She hadn’t spoken a word since they had left the restaurant, only offering curt smiles when Korra would try to strike up a conversation or humming in acknowledgment when Korra would make comments about songs that were playing on the radio.

She’s terrified that tonight might have made Asami have second thoughts about the relationship, and her silence really isn’t helping. When they arrive at the house, she grabs her overnight bag out of the trunk and then follows Asami into the foyer, waiting for the ball to drop.

“You can go ahead and sleep in the guest room. I’m gonna be up for a little while.” Asami whispers, confirming Korra’s fears.

Korra drops her bag to the ground and takes a step towards Asami.

“Asami, don’t do this.” She begs.

“Korra, please-”

“I’m _not_ sleeping in the guest room. Stop trying to push me away.”

“I’m just trying to be smart, Korra! I’m trying to do the right thing. Tonight-”

“Tonight was a mistake, and I’m sorry for it, but it won’t happen again. I promise! We’ll be smarter next time! One slip up doesn’t mean we can’t work this out.”

“Korra it’s not just about tonight! It’s all of this!” Asami gestures between them in exasperation. “I mean, seriously Korra, what are we _doing?_ What am _I_ doing!? This is crazy!”

“Asami, _please_.”

“I’m literally sleeping with my fucking student. I could lose _everything_ Korra. And you…is this really how you want your first relationship to be? Sneaking behind everyone’s backs, keeping us a secret, not being able to tell your friends the truth about your first kiss or your first date or… and if your dad knew about me, I-” Asami pinches the bridge of her nose and closes her eyes.

Korra feels tears stinging at the back of her eyeballs, turns her face away from Asami to keep them from falling out. She wished she could slap Kuzon for bringing this on and ruining her night with Asami, but she honestly knows it’s not his fault. This would have come up eventually anyways, it was honestly just a matter of when. But she wasn’t going to give up this easily. Asami was just upset right now. When she cooled down, Korra would be able to convince her that this could work. They just had to try.

“Asami, it won’t be like this forever. After I graduate, we-”

Asami laughs bitterly. “You’re wrong, Korra. Because even after you graduate and we go public, there’s gonna be questions about our relationship. About the ethics of dating a former student, questions about when the relationship actually started. If this gets out, my life is _over_. The scandal this would cause could destroy my father’s business. Korra, we’ll never be able to work out, not now. Not later. We can’t do this.”

Korra feels her throat closing up at the finality of Asami’s words. Her vision starts to get blurry, but she has no other argument to offer. Her last resort is to meekly beg for Asami to see how much she cares about her; cares about her way too much to let anything stand between them.

“None of that matters to me! I just want you, Asami. I don’t care about what other people think!” Korra yells.

“Well, I _DO_!” Asami yells back.

Korra rushes forward to kiss Asami, completely out of words to say and not wanting her to talk anymore, else she might rip another shred through Korra’s heart with her words. Asami yelps in surprise, but doesn’t push her away, instead pulls her in tighter, panting her name in between the moments Korra pulls away to catch her breath from kissing with so much passion.

She pushes Asami towards the staircase, but when they both trip over the first step and collapse onto the stairs, Korra decides that the bedroom was too far anyways. She frantically pushes Asami’s gown up above her waist and rips her panties off, hoisting Asami’s legs over her shoulders and diving right in.

“ _Korra! Nnnghhh_!” Asami gasps as Korra licks in between her legs like her life depended on it.

Korra moans as she slides her tongue directly up Asami’s slit, flattening it against her clit and bobbing her head up and down as fast as she could. She spreads Asami’s legs as wide as the staircase allowed her to and brought her hand up to ease two fingers inside, pumping in and out at a steady rhythm before bringing her mouth back down to suck on Asami’s clit.

In record time, Asami comes, screaming out Korra’s name as cream-like fluid seeps out of her, a couple drops leaking onto the stairs beneath her. Korra keeps pumping her fingers until Asami stops contracting around them, then carefully extracts them and crawls up Asami’s body, situating herself in between Asami’s legs. She waits with bated breath for Asami to open her eyes and talk to her.

When Asami finally comes down from her high, she opens her eyes and stares at Korra for a moment before pulling her down into a kiss. When they break apart for air, Asami chuckles and lets her head fall back to rest on the stair above her.

“I can’t believe…that you just fucked me on my staircase.”

Korra laughs and bends down to kiss across Asami’s neck, simultaneously wiping her fingers clean against her dress so that she could reach up and tuck Asami’s hair behind her ear.

Asami lifts up again to gaze at Korra, looking apologetic.

“Korra…I’m sorry for yelling at you. I was just scared and I-” Korra kisses Asami quiet again, smiling when she pulls away.

“It’s okay, Asami. Really. I’m scared too, but I want this. I want _us_. I like you so much, I can’t… I don’t even want to think about _not_ being with you. We can make this work; we just have to be patient.”

Korra sees a faint smile on Asami’s face and instantly her body relaxes. They were still in the clear for now, but tonight’s scare let her know that she had to be a lot smarter about navigating her relationship with Asami. It killed Korra that she couldn’t be with Asami how she wanted, but the time would soon come where they could be vocal about their connection. As she had just told Asami, they had to be patient.

Asami brings Korra’s hand up to her mouth and peppers her knuckles with featherlight kisses.

“I believe we were in the middle of something, Miss Waters?” Asami mumbles over her fingers, looking at Korra intently.

Korra grins and helps Asami stand up, laughing when she wobbles a little in her high heels, and pulling her up the stairs to go finish what they started in her bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bought some writing help books to help me write out scenes and explain emotions better so let’s see if they pay off lmao (Look at me, talking about not wanting to be a writer professionally but still buying self-help books PLEASE, I am clearly not okay. I just hate doing shit and Not. Per. Fecting. It.)


	22. Cinnamon Girl-Lana Del Rey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami updates June on her relationship with Korra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ If you hold me without hurting me, you’ll be the first who ever did~

~Asami~

The sun beamed down on Asami unforgivingly as she stepped out of her car. She adjusted her scarf and coat, regretting the decision to put them on now. The forecast had promised that the weather would be chilly, but she was quickly learning that mother nature wasn’t as predictable as people liked to make her out to be.

Sighing, she slipped her sunglasses over her eyes and then glanced both ways before crossing the empty street. Birds chittered and chirruped away in a nearby tree and she faintly heard the buzz of bees in the background as they scurried from flower to flower in search of the sweet, forbidden nectar. Although there was still a good month of winter left to go, the seasons seemed to be in a rush to change this year. Or maybe it had always been this way and she was just now noticing it, time now a constant weight on her conscious.

After weeks of pestering her to meet up, June had finally gotten her to cave in and meet at a quaint little café for lunch to “catch up”. Asami knew what June was really after, and while she couldn’t blame June for being curious about the status of her and Korra’s relationship, she was still apprehensive about telling her. The whole situation was just completely out of her character.

Asami was practical and mechanic; it was how she was raised to be. She didn’t dive into things that didn’t make sense or where the possible bad outcome heavily outweighed any potential good. Her emotions were always placed on the backburner, not important enough to take into consideration once a decision had to be made. That’s why she was with Mako for as long as she was. He was kind, he was gentle, and he was predictable. Sure, she was bored as hell, but Hiroshi approved of him and after years of living only to satisfy her father, that’s all that really mattered to her.

The few times she ever acted out, Hiroshi would give her the cold shoulder and it would jar her enough to get her act together, but something about this time was different. She didn’t feel the overwhelming urge to reach back out and try to make amends. She felt… _free._

But looming over her head and threatening that sense of freedom was her relationship with Korra. She knew that this was wrong, and the consequences were too grave for her to even want to think too much about, but she just couldn’t keep herself away. Korra was like a magnet, pulling and tugging Asami into her electrical field until Asami had no choice _but_ to get sucked in. The scariest part of all of this was that Asami _wanted_ to be sucked in.

She spent the better half of Christmas break trying to keep herself away from Korra, only to spiral and crash once she finally accepted that she couldn’t keep herself away. Those short few days in L.A. with Korra made Asami feel happier than she cared to admit, but as soon as they returned back to campus, the anxiety began building once more.

This was crazy. It was wild and reckless, and she could lose everything in the blink of an eye, yet she was doing this anyways. Asami had never been much of a gambler, but she prayed that the odds of whatever game she was currently playing remained in her favor.

She took a deep breath and then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, pushing the door open and stepping into the warmth of the café, taking a second to let her eyes adjust to the dim setting. The smell of slightly burnt bread and strong coffee hits her nose almost immediately. She glances behind the counter and sees the baker angrily toss away the ruined bread while muttering under his breath. Turning away from the scene, she scans the room and looks for June, spotting her in a secluded booth towards the back of the café, nursing a cup of coffee while scrolling through her phone.

As she walks over to the booth, she starts removing her scarf and her gloves. It was beginning to get a little too hot due to the sweltering heat that radiated out from the kitchen, making her feel as if she was suffocating.

She slid into the booth with a sigh and offered a faint smile when June looked up and smirked at her.

June’s smirk faded and she raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing for a minute, allowing Asami to settle in and get comfortable.

Asami fidgets with the buttons of her sweater, debating on whether or not she should just take it off. She looks up to find June staring at her and they hold each other’s gaze.

“You’ve been pretty damn M.I.A recently… so I’m just gonna take a wild guess here…” June starts.

Asami sighs once more before turning away to break eye contact, giving a small nod to let June know her guess was right. June bangs her hand on the table and lets out a triumphant _whoop_ , making Asami turn back around to glare at her.

“Oh, I just _knew_ it! I knew you would cave.”

“Can you keep it down?” Asami looked around the café to see if anyone was paying attention to them. The café was mostly empty, but the few people there did not seem to have cared too much about June’s outburst.

“Asami Sato is fucking her student.” June deadpanned.

“June, what the _hell_ is your problem?”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to see if it sounded as crazy out loud as it did in my head.” June snorted but then leaned forward and folded her arms across the table.

“I just can’t believe you’re actually doing this. I mean, I knew you would fold, but I didn’t _know_ you would fold, ya know? This is crazy.”

“Trust me, I _know._ ” Asami worried at her bottom lip and drummed her fingernails against the table.

“I just…I tried so hard June.”

“I know you did babe.”

“But I couldn’t stay away. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m not usually like this.”

“Asami, I’ve known you since high school. This is _way_ out of your element, so I know it’s eating you alive right now. I’m just surprised is all. Hot stuff must have really put it down.” June wiggled her eyebrows and Asami wrinkled her nose.

“ _Don’t_ be crude.”

“Is she good in the sack? God, I haven’t been able to ask you this question in so long, it feels weird coming out of my mouth.”

“June, I’m not talking to you about my sex life. I didn’t with Mako and I’m not doing it now.” Asami glared at her.

“You know what, you are so right, you never did like talking about it. I just had to use my orgasm sixth sense. Come here, lemme smell you real quick.” June leans forward and dramatically sniffs around Asami’s space.

“Ahhhh yup. Smells like orgasmic bliss to me. And look at your face, you’re practically glowing!”

“You’re ridiculous. It’s just hot in here _and_ you’re embarrassing me.” Asami muttered, turning her face away from June.

“Hey, if you like it, I _love_ it. If you’re happy, I’m thrilled.” June paused and gave her a look. “You _are_ happy, aren’t you?”

Asami took a minute to think about June’s question before answering. Whenever she was with Korra, once she ignored all the outside aspects and stressors of their relationship, she had to admit that she _was_ happy. But as soon as she stepped foot back onto Omashu, back into reality, the anxiety and the fear, the what-ifs and ethics of the relationship nearly ate her alive.

It wasn’t just the fact that being with Korra was a risk; it was the fact that her logical, practical mind seemed to just turn off completely whenever she was in Korra’s presence. She could’ve stopped this from happening before it even started, but for some reason, she _didn’t._ Something about Korra just made her want to be wild, to not care about the consequences of their actions.

“She…she makes me happy…” Asami chewed on her bottom lip as she struggled to find a way to articulate her thoughts.

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming on.” June speculated.

“No, not a but…it’s just…” Asami sighs in resignation. There really was no way to talk to June about this and not tell her what happened.

“We went on a date for Valentine’s day.”

June raises her eyebrows and leans forward in her seat.

“Oh. Like in public?”

“Mhm.” Asami nods and looks down at her hands clasped together in her lap. “And we kinda…we kinda got caught. By this…friend of hers.” Asami mutters.

June doesn’t say anything and Asami steals a peek at her to gauge her reaction. She looks annoyed and slightly disappointed, emotions that Asami rarely ever sees on June’s face. She’s really messed up this time.

“Asami.” June says sternly.

“I know, okay? It won’t happen again.”

“Look, if you’re gonna do this, you have to at least be fuckin’ smart about it. You have a lot of shit you can lose. You can literally go to jail.” June snaps at her.

“You think I don’t know that?” Asami says defensively. “I don’t do stuff like this normally, okay? It was a mistake, and it won’t happen again.”

“How did it even happen? You’re usually smarter than this.”

“That’s the thing, June. I don’t _know_!” Asami says in frustration, causing a few heads to swivel towards their table. She waits impatiently for the attention to turn from them before looking back over at June.

“When I’m around her, it’s like my brain shuts off. I don’t think straight. I _can’t_ think straight.”

“No pun intended.” June smirks.

“ _June_ , please. I’m trying to be serious.”

June laughs while offering her a half-hearted apology and signals for Asami to continue.

“I can’t seem to say no to her. It’s like it physically hurts me to see her upset and to know that I’m the cause of it. But even if I could somehow ignore the way my body reacts to saying ‘no’ to her and just push through it, I wouldn’t want to. Seeing her happy makes me happy. To the point where I shut off all the rational parts of my brain and just… let go.”

“Wow.” June leans back and crosses her arms together. 

Asami looks back down at her hands in her lap, fidgeting her fingers together.

“And that’s not even the scariest part.”

“Oh, good God, there’s _more_?” June asks in exasperation.

Asami chuckles. “Imagine how tired _I_ am. June I’m…I’m scared.”

“Well yea, the dynamic of the relationship is a scary one sooo…fear checks out.” June said sarcastically.

Asami opens her mouth to respond, but after a beat, she decides against it. She didn’t want to verbalize this, out of fear that it would overwhelm her and a reluctance to accept it. It wasn’t just the situation her and Korra were in that scared her, although that was a big part of it. It was how she felt about Korra, in general. She had never liked anybody this much, to the point where she would take such big risks just to be with them. Nobody had ever made her feel the way Korra did, and even if Korra wasn’t her student, she’s sure that her feelings would scare the shit out of her. They were beyond anything she had ever felt before in terms of intensity and it irritated her that she couldn’t describe them. 

Knowing she truly had nothing to fall back on if this all exploded in her face yet pursuing this relationship anyways…this wasn’t something she would ever imagine herself doing in a million years, and yet here she was. Maybe she should hold off on the relationship, at least until Korra graduated. Give Korra a chance to have a proper high school romance experience and also ensure that she wouldn’t end up in jail.

“You think I should call it off until she graduates?” Asami asks, verbalizing her last thought.

“Eh…I don’t think Hot stuff would take that too well. I also don’t think it’s fair to tug her back and forth like that , but honestly it’s probably the _right_ thing to do.”

“So, I should do that then?”

“I don’t know…should you?”

Asami rolls her eyes in annoyance. “June, I’m asking _you_ that. I don’t know what I should do.”

“Well…I mean… _bleh_ , look Asami. I’m not here to tell you right from wrong or try to nudge you a certain way to make certain decisions. Do what you think is best, babe.” She took a sip of her coffee and let out a content sigh.

“What would you do…if you were in my situation?” Asami implored further, still not willing to let the conversation go just yet. She needed a straight-forward answer, or something to help her make a decision, or advice, literally _anything_ that would quell all the doubts in her head about what she was most likely going to do.

“ _Uugghh_ okay fine, I see you’re not gonna let this shit go.” June grumbled and set her drink back down on the table, creasing her eyebrows as if she were in deep thought.

“Let’s say hypothetically, Hot Stuff was _my_ student, and just as eager to get in my pants as I was to get in hers.”

“June, it’s not just about sex, would you plea-”

“ _Hey_! Shut the hell up, I’m explaining _my_ hypothetical situation.” June huffs and then brings her hand up to her chin. “As I was saying, if Hot stuff was my student…nope. I can’t see myself _wanting_ to wait. But would I? … Nah, probably not. But again, that’s just me. I’ve never been responsible or a rule-follower or whatever the fuck. Also, I would never teach, because I hate teenagers and high school in general. I will admit that I’ve fucked a couple of 20-year old’s in the very near past, so there’s that. Not some of my strongest moments though. I was pretty fuckin’ hammered and these dudes looked so _old_ Asami, I mean Jesus, what the fuck are they putting in the milk these days? You would thi-” 

Asami reaches over to smack June on the arm, cutting her monologue off.

“Are you purposely going off topic to avoid answering?”

“Shit, you caught me!” June pokes her tongue out at Asami, who just rolls her eyes for what feels like the millionth time since she got there.

“Look Asami, just trust your gut, okay? That’s all I can really tell you, but you have my support no matter what you do because I know you’re a good person. And you’re gonna make the right choice…I hope.” June laughs and reaches across the table to squeeze Asami’s hand reassuringly. She pulls away after a second and then begins fumbling around in her purse as she looks for something.

“But anyway, all these hypotheticals and talk of consequences has made me extremely fucking stressed.” She lets out an ‘ _aha_ ’ when she finally locates the item, gleefully pulling out a small bottle of vodka.

“Want a drink?” She asks mischievously.

Asami blinks, but she’s not sure why she’s surprised. She should be used to June’s antics by now.

“June…it’s one in the afternoon.”

“Is that a no?”

Asami looks around the restaurant to make sure no one is watching them before turning her gaze back to June.

“Alright fine.” She exhales. “Fuck it.”

**********************************

Asami frowns as she pushes her glasses back up her nose, squinting her eyes in an attempt to focus on the documents in front of her. She’s only able to concentrate for another ten minutes before her vision starts getting blurry and her head starts sagging again. Groaning in irritation, she sets her pen down and stacks the papers up, putting them in a neat pile to the side of the desk. There was no way she would finish marking them like she wanted tonight.

Tired didn’t even begin to explain how Asami felt. She had been utterly exhausted since her conversation with June, the weight of what she knew she had to do lying heavy on her shoulders.

Korra would be upset, but this was for the best. And it wasn’t like it was an official _break-up_ ; she was just putting a halt on things until Korra graduated. Most likely the time away from each other would help Korra realize that Asami wasn’t right for her anyways, and then she could move on and be happy with Kuzon…or someone else, or just in _general_. She tries to ignore the short stab of pain that shoots through her chest at the thought of Korra being happy with someone who wasn’t her, but this is just how things had to be.

Taking a deep breath, Asami pushes away from her desk and pads out of her office room, clicking the light off and shutting the door. Even in the middle of the hallway and far away from any windows, she can still hear the havoc of a storm that was currently going on outside, the sound of her footsteps dwarfed by the heavy drops of rain that pounded against the roof threateningly, as if demanding entrance into the house.

Once downstairs, she makes her way through each room, turning off the lights and unplugging all electronics; She had to be more aware of her energy usage now that she was responsible for all the bills.

After double checking that everything was off, she crept her way into the foyer and was about to flip the light switch off when there’s a sudden knock on her front door, followed by the piercing _‘ding dong’_ of the doorbell.

Asami pauses with her hand still reaching out towards the light, not sure whether she was imagining things and that was just thunder and heavy wind messing with her bell, or if someone actually knocked and rang at her house at this hour in the night. She holds her breath as she waits a few moments for the knock to come again. Sure enough, it does, only this time followed by the sound of her name coming from an eerily familiar voice.

She swallows down the sudden lump of tension that had formed in her throat and cautiously goes to open the front door.

Korra’s eyes brighten almost immediately once they land on Asami. Her cheeks are red from the cold and her hair sticks to her face, soaking wet from the rain pouring down outside. Asami briefly notices that she doesn’t have an umbrella, her only protection from the storm outside being a dark blue raincoat.

“Hi ‘Sami.” Korra greets her warmly.

Asami continues to stare for a second longer, still shocked that Korra is actually here on her doorstep.

“Korra…what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you silly. Can I come in?”

“Huh? Oh yea, yea of course.”

Remembering herself, Asami steps to the side and allows Korra entrance into the house. She watches quietly as Korra waltzes into the house and then looks around as if it’s her first time being there. It’s clear that Korra has questions on her mind is just taking the time to figure out how to ask them.

Asami can pretty much guess what prompted Korra’s impromptu visit, no matter how much she wants to feign ignorance about it. Ever since her conversation with June three weeks ago, she had been putting distance between her and Korra.

She had to do what was right, no matter how much it hurt her and how upset Korra would be. The back-and-forth aspect of their was starting to have a detrimental effect on her well-being, and she figured it would be best to just go ahead and rip the band-aid straight off. She would not cave, no matter how much Korra would try to convince her that this could work. She just had to be strong.

Korra finally ends her surveillance of the foyer and turns to meet Asami’s gaze. They stare at each other in silence for a couple moments before Asami finally gathers the courage to break it.

“How’d you get here?” Asami asks, though she already knows the probable answer. She just needs a proper way to get to the real heart of the matter.

“I took an Uber.” Korra shrugs nonchalantly and starts fiddling with the buttons on her raincoat.

“Korra…you weren’t supposed to come over this weekend.” Her breath catches slightly at the sight of Korra’s shoulders dropping slightly, the hurt look that twists up her features.

“Yea well…I didn’t come over last weekend. Or the weekend before that.” She pouts and awkwardly rubs the back of her neck. “I don’t know ‘Sami, I just…I feel like you’re pushing me away again.” Korra pouts up at her and Asami almost loses her resolve. She grits her teeth and turns her head away, trying to muster the strength for what she was about to do.

“I think…Korra I think we should stop doing this.”

“Asami-”

“At least until you graduate. It’s just too much for me-”

“Asami, stop-”

“The sneaking around and then nearly getting caught. Korra, I can’t do this. You have no idea-”

“Asami, listen to me!” Korra screams at her and Asami finally lifts her head up to look Korra in the face. The sheer amount of sorrow and fear displayed there makes Asami want to shatter into a million little pieces and just disappear, to run forward and wrap her arms around Korra while apologizing and promising that everything would be okay. Instead, she presses on.

“No, Korra! We can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry, but it’s for the best.”

“It’s not! We can make this work, you just have to trust me, Asami _please_.”

“It’s not just about trust, Korra, it’s more than that. This is _wrong_. I’m taking so much from you-”

“No, you’re _not_ Asami, stop saying stuff like that.” Korra pleaded, sounding on the verge of tears. “You’re not taking anything from me. I want this. I want _you._ I don’t want to wait until I graduate, I lo-” She paused and then huffed in frustration, balling her fists up at her side before continuing.

“I want you _now_. Asami, please don’t hold Valentine’s day over my head forever, okay? I know it was scary, but it won’t happen again. I _promise_.”

Asami opens her mouth to retort but before she can get a word out, Korra is right in front of her, smashing their lips together and prodding Asami’s mouth open with her tongue. She can’t contain the moan that slips out of her mouth at the sudden contact.

After the initial shock wears off, Asami feels herself melting into the kiss, even as her mind is screaming at her to pull away. As she wraps her arms around Korra’s neck, Korra roughly pushes her back until she’s flat against the wall next to the staircase, her hands roaming over Asami’s body desperately, swallowing every moan that escapes from Asami’s mouth as if they’re water and Korra’s been dehydrated her entire life. Every slide of Korra’s tongue against her own makes her feel dizzy. She’d likely fall over if it wasn’t for Korra pressing their bodies together so tightly, propping her up against the wall.

She feels cold, clammy palms slide under her shirt and slide across her lower back, tugging up the hem of her shirt. It’s this, the jolt of white-hot electrity that tears through her as Korra’s cold hands meet her hot skin, that finally clicks her logical mind back into gear.

She musters all of her willpower and pushes Korra off of her, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, her lungs working overtime to try and squeeze oxygen through her airway.

“Korra, you can’t just have sex with me every time we get in an argument.” Asami says accusingly, straightening her shirt out as she shoots her a look.

Korra takes a couple of steps away from Asami, looking at the ground in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Asami. I just…I got scared and I didn’t know what to say and…I’m so sorry.”

Korra looks up at Asami, her eyes shining from the tears threatening to spill out at any moment. One actually does slip out, and Asami unconsciously raises her hand to Korra’s face, wiping the lone tear away with her thumb. Korra sighs and leans into her touch, closing her eyes and allowing more tears to flow.

“Oh, Korra…” Asami croaks. This hurt so much, a lot more than it should’ve given the short amount of time they had known each other. Even though the timeline of their relationship was brief, she felt such a deep connection to Korra. That alone was daunting, and when the situation surrounding their relationship was added to the equation, the fear only heightened for Asami.

She couldn’t tell Korra the real reason she wanted to put whatever they were doing on pause. It was more than just Korra being years younger and her student; it was how Korra made her feel. No one had _ever_ made her feel this way, and she couldn’t even pinpoint exactly what this feeling was. It’s as if simply being in Korra’s presence intensified every emotion she had, to the point where she wanted to scream.

Being with Korra was like standing on the shoreline and looking out onto the horizon. The waves would either come in slow and gentle or fast and hard, but you didn’t mind too much which one you would get, so long as you could feel the cool water brush up against your toes and caress the sand under your feet, feel the ocean beckoning you to come forward, and Asami wanted so badly to go forward. She wanted to be embraced by it, relish in the weightlessness and freedom it could offer her; She wanted to float.

Korra reaches up to cup Asami’s hand underneath her own, turning her head around to press kisses against the inside of her wrist. Asami shudders involuntarily at the sweet gesture, shooting Korra a weak smile.

“I’m sorry for coming over here unannounced.” Korra says.

Asami tries to say that it’s okay, that she missed her anyways and she’s sorry for pushing her away, but her voice is caught in her throat. She shakes her head in objection but Korra keeps going.

“No Asami, I shouldn’t have come. I should’ve taken it as a sign that you needed space. I’m still new to all this.” She makes a vague gesture between them. “But I know that we can work. I just…just please don’t shove me away. Just talk to me. I know it’s scary right now, but it won’t be like this forever. I care about you so much, ‘Sami.”

Tentatively, Korra leans forward and wraps Asami up in a hug. Asami lets out a sigh, the last of her resolve leaving alongside the breath she just expelled. There was no use fighting this. She should have realized she lost the first night Korra and her had kissed, maybe even before that. Maybe the fragments of her shattered armor still lay somewhere hidden in her classroom, broken off piece by piece with every afterschool tutoring session, every smile exchanged and laugh belted out. That classroom had been her wall, perfectly protected by rules and regulations and routines, yet Korra had waltzed right in and broken it down anyways. 

If she closes her eyes, she can still remember the first time she really got to know Korra, to _see_ Korra. The moment that she had marched into her classroom to confront her about talking to Mary and take up her offer on the extra help, determination clear on her face. Asami should have known then that she was fighting a war she was bound to lose.

The rainwater dripping off of Korra’s jacket starts to soak through Asami’s t-shirt, and she pulls away from Korra in mock disgust.

“ _Ugh_ …you’re getting me wet.”

Korra grins at her and raises her arms ominously.

“Oh noooo. We wouldn’t want Miss Sato to get wet now, would we?”

Sensing what Korra was about to do, Asami took a step sideways and started backing up towards the living room, only for Korra to immediately take a menacing step forward.

“Korra, _don’t.”_ Asami warned, but it was too late.

Korra ends up chasing her throughout the bottom portion of the house, through the foyer, dining room, and kitchen, tripping over chairs and rugs in the dark while Asami giggles and manages to stay just out of her reach.

She finally gets the sense to turn the living room light on so that she can see, and traps Asami between the coffee table and couch. She tackles Asami down onto the latter and shakes her hair out, smacking Asami in the face with the ends of it.

Asami squeals and tries to push Korra off of her, but Korra makes herself a deadweight then wraps herself around Asami and hangs on tightly.

“Korraaaa. You’re getting the couch wet! Get off me!” Asami pleads but Korra ignores her. That is until Asami reaches underneath Korra’s raincoat and starts tickling the sides of her stomach. Korra screeches and finally releases her grip from around Asami, shimmying out of her raincoat and tossing it unceremoniously behind the couch.

She settles back onto Asami’s lap and wraps her arms around Asami’s waist, leaning forward to kiss her. Asami brings her hands up to rest atop Korra’s thighs, her fingers tracing irregular patterns into her leggings. They stay like this for a couple minutes, their lips moving languidly together, neither in a rush or trying to take it to the next level. When Korra pulls away, her blue eyes are sparkling bright enough to compete with the clearest ocean on a sunny day.

“I heard a song on the radio today. I think we could make it our song.” Korra whispers.

Asami rolls her eyes playfully. “You’re such a dork.” When Korra pouts down at her, Asami finds that she can’t resist, even if she tried. “Play it for me?” She asks, knowing that’s what Korra wanted her to do.

Korra grins and kisses her once more before hopping up and digging into her pocket to pull her phone out. She plugs up Asami’s Bluetooth speaker and then connects her phone, furrowing her brows in concentration as she makes a couple of swipes on her screen. Once she finds the song, she shoots Asami a crooked grin and then comes over to pull her off the couch as the sound of a guitar strumming slowly fills the room.

She lets Korra spin her around the living room as the song plays, throwing her head back and laughing. They take turns dipping and spinning each other to the music, and as the song ends, Korra pulls her into a tight hug and buries her face into Asami’s shoulder, swaying them gently from side to side. Asami brings her hands up and cards her fingers through Korra’s hair, inhaling the scent of rainwater and cucumber shampoo. They sway softly for a while, long after the song has ended and the only sounds to be heard are those from the storm outside.

“Asami?” Korra says, breaking the silence.

“Hm?” She hums against Korra’s head, pressing a gentle kiss into it.

“Can I say something crazy?”

“I _love_ crazy.” 

“Did you just quote ‘Frozen’?”

Asami smirks. “Go on Korra, what are you gonna tell me? Has all your life been a series of doors in your face?”

“Asami, don’t tease me! I’m being serious!” Korra pulls away to poke her tongue out before snuggling back into Asami’s neck.  
  


“I just…” Korra squeezes her tighter. “I know I’ve never been in a relationship before but…this just feels _right_. Holding you like this, kissing you. Whenever I’m with you, I feel so _alive._ Asami…I think we’re meant to be together.”

Asami inhales sharply, but doesn’t respond, just squeezes Korra tighter before letting her go. She tucks a piece of Korra’s hair behind her ear and leans forward to kiss her.

“Do you wanna watch a movie with me?”

Korra grins and nods her head. “Only if I get to pick. Now that I think about it, maybe we should watch Frozen. I feel like singing, do you feel like singing?”

Korra kicks her shoes off and walks back over to the couch and plops down, tucking her feet in underneath her and reaching for the remote

“Also, do you mind if I spend the night? I don’t know if you’ve seen the weather report recently, but it’s a big storm going on right now.” Korra says seriously.

Asami shakes her head and swoops down to pick up Korra’s discarded shoes with the intent of putting them in the hallway closet.

“I’m gonna go make some popcorn. You put on the movie. And _no. Singing,_ ” She wags her finger at Korra who bends forward and pretends that she’s about to bite it.

As she pops the popcorn into the microwave, Asami replays tonight’s events through her head, not even slightly surprised at how the argument ended. She was really doing this. God, she couldn’t believe that she was _actually_ doing this.

She peeks out of the kitchen to look at Korra in the living room, her heart melting as she watches Korra eagerly flip through the movie selections in search of the desired title.

All she could do now was trust Korra to keep their relationship under wraps and just allow things to play out by ear. Everything happened for a reason, and as Asami had quickly learned over the past couple months of her life, there was simply no use fighting fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to hold off on doing this, but I’m impatient and want to start outlining my next fic ASAP lmao, SO I would be absolutely honored if you guys could do this poll for me and let me know which fic idea you’d like me to do next. I’m gonna do all of them regardless because they’ve been stuck in my head for a while, but you guys get to decide which one I start working on first.  
> [Poll :)](https://www.opinionstage.com/korrasami_enthusiast/which-fic-idea-should-i-write-next)


	23. Under Your Spell~Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kya offers some relationship advice but Korra doesn't take it well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I do nothing but think of you ~  
> See End notes for TW!

~Korra~

“Why am I just now finding out about this?!”

Korra tossed her backpack onto the floor next to her bed and plopped down on the mattress, letting out a huff of air and ignoring Kya’s look of amusement.

“It’s not like it was some super-secret, hush hush thing. _You’ve_ just been too preoccupied with a certain someone to pay attention in art class.” Kya teased.

Korra blushed and turned her head away.

“Mr. Feu has been blabbering about this shit for almost a month now. It’s like his favorite time of the year. Something about the springtime making people extra creative or whatever. All the pollen and pheromones floating around in the air, wreaking havoc.” Kya wiggled her fingers dramatically and rolled her eyes, walking forward to lie beside Korra on the bed, pushing her to make more room.

“Yea, well…you coulda warned me that this might happen. I mean, out of _all_ the seniors to get paired with for this, why _Azula_?” She wrinkled her nose as if saying the girl’s name brought a bad smell along with it.

“I think she hates me.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that.”

“No, Kya I’m serious. She acts so weird around me, like she’s repulsed by me or something.”

“It’s probably because you smell.”

“No, I don’t!” Korra smacks Kya on the forehead and giggles. “And I’m being for real. I don’t know what I did to make her hate me so much.”

“God, Korra sometimes you’re so clueless.”

“What?”

Kya stared at her for a moment before sighing and turning her head to look up at the ceiling.

“Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if she requested to work with you. Seniors have the option to pick their partners for this. Buuuut you probably didn’t know that because you’ve been on an entirely different planet recently.” Kya said sarcastically.

“Shut up.” Korra snapped but smiled when Kya gently bumped their shoulders together. She thought this over for a moment, chewing at her bottom lip.

“You think she paired up with me to mess with me some more? One last round of torture before she graduates?”

That was the most likely scenario. Azula had made her life a living hell during volleyball season, and she never really got Korra back for embarrassing her at the beach. Korra cringes thinking of all the possible ways Azula would exact revenge on her during the time they had to spend together while working on the project.

“Korra, how are you _this_ slow?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” She turned to look at Kya, scrunching her eyebrows up in confusion.

“Can you really not see that she has some sort of weird, obsessive crush on you? And the project was probably her sneaky little way of getting closer.” Kya griped.

Korra sat up in shock, partially due to the absurdity of the claim but also because of the way Kya spat the accusation out with so much venom in her voice.

“ _What?_ Kya, that’s ridiculous. She doesn’t like me like _that_. Hell, she doesn’t like me at all!”

Korra watches as Kya sits up too, crossing her legs and leaning against the wall.

“You’re so innocent Korra.”

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not, you’re really naïve. It’s endearing. One of the many reasons I love you. I wish I could see people, _things,_ the way that you do.” Kya smiles at her, then shakes her head. “She likes you Korra. I can tell by the way she looks at you when she thinks no one is watching. It’s a wonder how you ever got this far with Miss Sato, I swear.”

“I don’t even think Azula likes girls. You’re crazy. Wasn’t she…on the beach she said something homophobic about…” Korra trails off, noticing the flicker of emotion that passes through Kya’s face before it returned to its neutral expression. She wanted to slap herself for bringing that up, knowing that Lin would always be a sensitive topic for Kya. _Way to go, idiot._

“You’d be surprised the lengths people go to hurt others when they hate themselves.” Kya shrugged as if the discussion no longer interested her. “Besides, I know she has a thing for basketball players.” Kya mumbled under her breath, low enough for Korra to barely catch it.

The wheels in Korra’s mind start to spin as she rapidly tries to piece together all the information she knows about Kya and Lin’s situation, knowing that whatever Kya just said right now has something to do with it. Lin was a basketball player, right? Wait, or was it lacrosse that Lin played? Soccer? Did Azula like Lin? Did she break them up because Kya stole Lin from her? Azula likes girls?

She was tired of playing guessing games and trying to figure out on her own exactly what happened between Kya and Lin, but she doesn’t want to pressure Kya into talking about anything if it still hurt her.

But _Jesus Christ,_ was it infuriating to have to tip toe around Kya about the subject. It would be so much easier if she could just _know what happened,_ that way she could be more careful about what to say and what not to say, and also so that it could just not bother her anymore. Why did Kya and Lin break up? How did Lin’s parents find out? How did Azula tie into all this and why was Kya still so secretive about everything, even after Korra had opened up to her about so much of her own past?

That last thought made Korra clench her fists in annoyance. Kya was the one person who knew basically everything about Korra. After she had confessed about what was happening between her and Asami and seeing how non-judgmental Kya was, Korra felt comfortable talking to her about nearly everything. Kya knew about how hard the last year had been for her, struggling with her mom’s overdose and being under constant surveillance after her own attempted suicide. She knew about Korra’s struggle with depression and anxiety. So why, after all that she had shared, did Kya still not trust her enough to know about what happened?

As if sensing Korra’s growing irritation and incoming round of questions, Kya places her hand on top of Korra’s and squeezes it. She holds Korra’s gaze for a moment and searches her face before smiling softly. Later, her face seems to say. _I’m not ready now_ , _but I promise to tell you later._

Korra sighs and relaxes her shoulders, leaning up against the wall next to her bed, mimicking Kya’s position.

“So how _are_ things with you and Asami? God, it still feels so weird to say her first name.” Kya laughed changing the subject.

Korra smiled and gave a small shrug, feeling her face heat up at the thought of her girlfriend. _Girlfriend._ Did Asami even consider them girlfriends? Things had calmed down a lot since their last argument, but they never went over the specifics of their relationship.

“I don’t know… things are good…I guess.”

“You _guess_?

“Yea I mean…it was a little rocky at first but…I’m going to her house again this weekend. And I want to do something special for her birthday.”

“Isn’t her birthday in like, two months?”

Korra nods. “Yeah, but I wanna start planning now. I think I have a couple ideas up my sleeve already.”

Kya tucks her chin down and peers up at Korra impishly, a hint of a smile on her lips. “Maybe you guys should try using a strap-on. That’d be hot.”

Korra tilts her head to the side. “Using a what?”

“A strap-on.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t…you don’t know what a strap-on is?”

“Uhhh…no? Should I?”

Kya groans and leans her head back against the wall. “Ugh, never mind. I’ll show you later. It’s not fun when you’re not embarrassed.”

Korra rolls her eyes and makes a mental note to do her own research to save her future self from Kya’s antics. She looks over out the bedroom window at the sunset, taking in the pink, purple, and orange hues caressing the trees as the sun made its graceful descent into the welcoming embrace of the water below.

Korra finds that she’s excited to leave this weekend, looking forward to spending more time with Asami. Every moment they spent together felt magical, and it made her so happy to see Asami finally opening up to her more and reciprocating her emotions. She wondered if this was how it felt to be in love with someone. Always wanting to be around them, never getting tired of their presence. Korra could sit and watch Asami sleep for hours and never get bored; Asami was so beautiful when she slept, all the stress and anxiety of life melting off of her face, sleep ridding her of the mask she had to put on in front of others until all that was left behind was peace and vulnerability. Korra relished the fact that she was the only person that got to see Asami like this.

And the way she made Korra feel when they had sex…the way Asami screamed her name as she came and clung onto Korra afterwards, as if scared that she would run away…this had to be love, right? If it wasn’t, then why did she feel this way? Why was Asami always on her mind?

She barely registers that Kya had been talking to her the entire time she was in her thoughts, only picking up on the last part of her statement.

“… just realized that you blew us off last weekend too. And now you’re leaving _again?_ Korra, you have to spend time with us, we miss y-”

“Kya, how do you know when you’re in love?” Korra asks, cutting Kya off in the middle of her sentence.

Kya gawked at her incredulously, her eyes wide. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned away from Korra, not answering immediately. When she finally did respond, her voice was slightly lower than usual.

“I don’t know exactly. It’s…it’s hard to tell when it’s new. You feel so many things at once, it’s like a rollercoaster.”

“Well…when did you know with Lin?”

Kya smiled softly, her attention turning to the teddy bear she kept tucked in the corner of her bed.

“I knew after two months of being together. I didn’t tell her right away though; I waited until it was our one-year anniversary.”

“Can you tell the difference between loving someone and just…just being obsessed with them? Like how do you know when you actually _love_ someone?”

“I’m not sure Korra. When you know, you just… _know_.”

“Kya… I think I’m in love.”

Kya looks at her then, a frown etched onto her face. “You can’t possibly know that yet.”

“You said you knew after two months.” Korra said defensively.

“Yea, well I had known Lin since we were kids, so it’s different.” Kya sighed and turned her body to face Korra, linking their hands together.

“Look Korra, I’m happy for you. Really, I am. But maybe you should cool down on this a little bit.” She squeezes Korra’s hands in reassurance. “I’m not saying what you feel for Asami isn’t real, I just don’t think it’s love yet. I know it feels intense but that’s because it’s your first relationship.”

Korra ripped her hands out of Kya’s grasp and glared at her. How _dare_ she? Who was she to act like she knew the ins and outs of how Korra felt about Asami? As far as Korra knew, Lin was Kya’s first relationship too. Her being in love after only being with Lin for two months was enough, but for some reason _she’s_ the one that needs to cool down?

So what if she had only met Asami a couple of months ago? You can learn a lot about a person in that time span and it was more than enough time to fall in love. Besides, Korra was older than Kya anyways. Even though it was a small gap, it made a big difference clearly. What she lacked in experience, she surely made up for in maturity. Kya never took _anything_ seriously, so what the hell did _she_ know about love?

“Don’t patronize me. You don’t know anything about what I feel for Asami, so don’t sit here and act all high and mighty.” Korra snaps.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I’m not patronizing you; I’m just saying maybe you should slow down a little. Or at least spend more time with us? Jessica sees you in basketball practice but outside of that, the rest of us barely see you anymore. I’m surprised I was able to catch you right now. Where do you run off to in between dinner and the living area activity?”

Korra looks down at her lap, wringing her hands together. Kya didn’t have to know everything about her life. Clearly, she was fine keeping secrets from Korra, so she shouldn’t have to know every single thing that Korra was up to.

“That’s none of your business.” Korra says under her breath.

“Korra…”

They sat in deafening silence for a moment, Korra trying to get her anger under control.

“I was just trying to be honest with you.” Kya whispered.

“Are you, Kya? Are you _really_ being honest with me right now? Have you been honest with me for the past few months?” Korra asked accusingly.

Kya stares at her, her shoulders tense. For a second, she opens her mouth as if she wants to say something, but then decides against it, shaking her head.

“Look Korra, I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad or like your feelings aren’t valid. I’m just saying be careful.” She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Omashu and secrets don’t mix. There are eyes all over this campus, even in places you think are safe. Just…don’t do anything stupid.”

Korra stared at Kya in disbelief.

“You think I’m dumb, don’t you?”

“What? No, Korra, that’s not what I’m saying at all, I-”

“That’s _exactly_ what you’re saying. You think I’m so stupid and naïve and you act like I don’t know shit. And why? Because I don’t know as much about sex as you do, that must mean I don’t know about anything else, huh? You feel like you always have to protect me because I’m so helpless, aren’t I? And you know _so, so_ much more than me, because you’re so _experienced_. Poor, stupid, naïve Korra. I bet you were just thrilled when I came here and you found out you got a brand new punching bag to throw all your own insecurities at.”

“Korra, would you shut up and listen to me? I don’t think you’re dumb, okay. I just think it’s stupid _in general_ for you to put so much energy into something that could end badly at any moment! I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“You’re just jealous.” Korra said coldly. “You’re jealous because Lin was taken away from you and now, you’re trying to project that onto me. Well, I don’t need your advice. I didn’t _ask_ for it. If anything, you should’ve taken your own advice. How dare you sit here and tell me not to put energy into my relationship because it can end badly. That certainly didn’t stop _you._ ”

Kya laughed sarcastically and sneered at Korra.

“Oh, I’m sorry, maybe I didn’t get the memo, but last time I checked, falling in love with someone _the same age as you_ who just so happens to have homophobic parents is a _little different_ than ignoring your friends to go fuck your teacher behind everyone’s backs. News flash Korra: That isn’t a real relationship. You’re nothing but Miss Sato’s dirty little secret.”

Korra freezes as the weight of Kya’s words pour over her like an avalanche, ice-cold and heavy. Kya blinks and then her face twists up into a grimace. She reaches a hand towards her, but Korra jerks away from her touch, scooting to the head of the bed.

“Korra-”

“Get away from me.”

“Korra, please. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“Get the _fuck_ away from me. Go!”

Kya slowly got off the bed and Korra laid down on her side, turning away from her while desperately trying to keep the tears at bay. She could still feel Kya’s presence at her back but does her best to ignore it.

“Korra…I’m sorry, I-” She heard Kya swallow thickly and then sniffle, as if she was trying to keep from crying too.

“I’ll talk to you after dinner. I…I really _am_ sorry, Korra.” She heard the shuffle of footsteps across the carpet, followed by the sound of the door opening and then closing.

Korra relaxed her shoulders and waited a couple more seconds before finally letting the tears flow. What she said about Kya and Lin was wrong, she knew that, but she never imagined that Kya would say something like that to her.

Even if Kya were to come back and apologize, it bothered Korra that that was even on her mind. Is that how she really felt about Korra? Is that how she felt about her and Asami’s relationship? _Was_ there even a relationship or was Kya right? Was Korra really just Asami’s dirty little side project until she grew bored of her, eventually tossing her to the side once she found someone richer, closer to her age, and just overall better than Korra was?

The thoughts were only amplified by the suffocating silence in the room, but Korra was too drained to reach for her headphones to try and drown them out.

She doesn’t go to dinner, nor does she go to the living area activity. She spent the next three hours curled up in a ball on her bed, spiraling, fighting the voices in her head that tried to convince her that she wasn’t enough for Asami, would never be enough for her. Maybe she would never be enough for anyone.

The room was flooded in darkness when she finally heard the door creak open again. Korra was momentarily pulled out of her daze, holding her breath as she waited for Kya to make a move. She heard the door click close and then some ruffling sounds, shoes being kicked off, a jacket being tossed onto a chair.

Seconds passed and then Korra finally feels Kya standing over her. She released her breath.

“Korra?” Kya whispered.

Korra doesn’t respond. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and tensed her shoulders up, using every signal she could to let Kya know she didn’t want to be bothered right now. She heard Kya let out a sigh and released her breath, figuring Kya got the message and was going to leave her alone. Suddenly there’s a deadweight on top of her, hair covering her face and arms wrapping around her torso.

“Kya, get off of me!”

“Scooch over.”

“No! Would you just go away? I want to be alone right now.”

“We can be alone together. Scoot over.”

Grumbling, Korra obliged and Kya made quick work of tucking them both underneath Korra’s blanket, curling herself against her backside.

They lay in silence for a while, with Kya idly stroking her fingers through Korra’s hair, her breath tickling her neck every few seconds. Korra starts to feel her eyes droop against her will, the beginning stages of sleep kicking in, when Kya finally breaks the silence.

“I’m really sorry, Korra. I’m such an asshole and sometimes I just say shit without thinking. I’m so, so sorry.”

Korra nods her head slightly. “It’s okay…I’m really sorry too.”

“I don’t want to fight with you ever again. Korra, I _love_ you. You’re my best friend and the closest thing to a sister that I’ve ever had.”

If she had the energy to, she would smile, but at the moment Korra’s almost too tired to even respond.

“I don’t want to fight with you either, Kya. I love you too.”

They don’t talk anymore after that, and soon Korra feels Kya’s breath even out, her fingers pausing mid-stroke, letting Korra know that she’s fallen asleep.

Korra goes to sleep troubled, her mind still at war even as she slips into the abyss of dreamless slumber. Kya had apologized and of course, Korra forgave her, but the seeds of uncertainty had already been planted, the roots already staking their claim in the pit of her belly as the hideous tree of doubt begun to grow.

She had already been unsure about everything, the arguments and Asami’s hesitation to fully commit to what they were doing only making it worse. But now she knew that Kya saw it too. It was embarrassing how obviously one-sided the relationship was, even to an outsider. She had said so herself; Korra was nothing more than Asami’s dirty little secret. And try as she might, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that that was all she would ever be for Asami.

******************************

Korra watched as the actors on the screen scrambled to and fro and interacted with each other, the laugh track signaling the delivery of the punchline in an attempt to convince the audience that whatever was just said was supposed to be funny. But Korra wasn’t moved. None of the people on the show were going through real things, their situations entirely made up and one-sided. It served as nothing more than a distraction from everyday life. And it was failing miserably at diverting her from her thoughts.

“…just been a really busy week, you know? I think Spring has been my least favorite time of the school year so far. Everything is just so hectic, and the seniors are getting ready to graduate so it’s a lot of last-minute things that need to be wrapped up.”

Asami set the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and then sat down on the couch next to Korra. She could feel Asami’s eyes on her, but she kept her focus trained on the television. A part of her desperately wanted to talk to Asami about her conversation with Kya, but she obviously couldn’t do that.

“Korra…what’s wrong?” Asami asked her hesitantly, as if she was afraid to actually know the answer.

She finally looked over to meet Asami’s gaze, giving her a sad smile. The sheer amount of concern that shone in her eyes made Korra’s heart thrum with emotion, and she wished that she could tell Asami exactly what was troubling her so they could work through it, but she _couldn’t_.

They were still on shaky ground from their last argument, and Korra was terrified that any sign of uncertainty on her end would make Asami try to end things again. But she Kya’s words were still hanging over her head, and she couldn’t shake them off, no matter how hard she tried. What was she to Asami? Were they exclusive or was Asami dating other people? Was she still seeing _Mako?_

Korra cringed at the thought but the feeling of Asami gently squeezing her thigh brings her back to the moment.

“Is it something I said?” Asami continued earnestly.

Korra shook her head. “No, no. It’s not you, I just had a…weird week.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Um… not really? Okay well maybe it is kinda about you…”

She felt Asami stiffen at her side and looked up to see that her face had turned sort of pale.

“Do you wanna…stop seeing each other?” She whispered.

“What? Asami, no!” Korra looked at Asami in confusion. It always baffled her whenever Asami assumed that Korra didn’t want her or would ever even think about ending things. Korra was one hundred percent certain that Asami was the love of her life. There couldn’t possibly be any person out there that was better than Asami. She was kind, funny, intelligent, and yeah looks aren’t everything, but God she had to be the most beautiful human being Korra had ever laid her eyes on. Unless…Asami wanted to stop seeing her?

She wouldn’t ask her that, at least not directly; She was too afraid of what the answer might be. But she had to talk to Asami about all this somehow.

“Asami…what are we?”

Asami scrunched her eyebrows together and tilted her head to the side.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.” She said slowly.

“What are we doing? Are you my…are we…? Christ, I don’t know how to say this.” Korra laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Just say it.”

“Do you want to see other people?”

Asami chewed on her bottom lip and averted her gaze. “No, I…Did you…” She sighed and brought her hands together in her lap. “Did you want to see other people?”

“No, of course not! I was just asking…”

“I don’t want to see other people either.” Asami glanced over at her and Korra could see the worry clear on her face. “But I understand if you do. I wouldn’t be upset.”

“I don’t want anyone else, Asami. I just want you. I can’t even imagine being with anyone else but you.” She saw Asami grin at her confession, giving her the strength to keep talking.

“I just…I like you so much. But sometimes I feel like you don’t like me back as much as I like you and I’m just scared that I don’t mean anything to you-”

“Korra, you mean so much to me.” Asami cut her off. “I just…I get scared. I know it’s stupid, but I don’t…I don’t want you to wake up some day and realize how much I made you miss out on and resent me.”

“Asami, I could never resent you.”

“I know you say that now, but what about a year from now? Or three, or four, or five? What if you wake up one day and look back and think about all the experiences I took away from you and-”

“Is this about Kuzon?”

Asami looked at her in surprise but then guiltily turned away and shrugged her shoulders.

“No…well, yeah…but not just… _him_. Ya know, just…in general. I don’t want you to regret anything in general.”

“Asami…I don’t know what I do to make you think that I’ll ever regret being with you, but I promise, I won’t. I _won’t._ ” _I love you_ , Korra wanted to scream at her, but it was way too soon. The last thing she needed was for Asami to be scared off for good by her confession.

“It’s not being with _me_ that I think you’ll regret. It’s…it’s what you’ll lose by being with me…exclusively.”

“I don’t understand.” Korra frowned.

Asami smiled at her and reached over to caress the side of her face. Korra closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. She would never get used to the way it felt to have Asami touch her, the ripple of electricity that tingled wherever Asami’s skin made contact with her own, making her breath just a tad bit shallower.

“Korra…you really don’t see the way people look at you, huh?”

Korra opened her eyes slowly and was met with an expression of such gentleness and admiration. She knew that whatever Asami would say next would be genuine and that she could trust it. She shook her head no and waited for Asami to continue.

“You’re so beautiful…and kind and funny and intelligent. I see how people flock to you at school. I see the way boys look at you whenever we go on field trips with our brother school. And I even see the way some girls at Omashu look at you.”

Korra raised her eyebrows in shock upon hearing that, her mind instantly going to Kya’s accusation against Azula. She pushed the thought aside and focused back on Asami.

“…I can’t give you what you deserve, Korra, and that bothers the hell out of me. I want to be with you openly so bad, but I…I _can’t_. If you stay with me, you’ll never get the experience of having a real boyfriend or girlfriend. I can’t hold your hand as we walk down the hallway or kiss you in front of your locker. You can’t tell your dad or your friends about me. We can’t even go on a movie date around town. I just…” Asami sighs and rubs her hand across her forehead.

She looked at Korra then, eyes bright and shiny from the tears that had collected as she had been talking.

“You deserve so much more than what I can give you, Korra.”

“Be my girlfriend.” Korra said suddenly.

“W-what?”

“Oh geez, I’m sorry that was rude. I meant to say ‘Asami, would you please be my girlfriend?’ Sorry about that.”

Asami looked at her as if she had an extra head on her shoulder. “Did you…did you even hear a word I just said?”

“Yea, I got the gist of it. Something about giving me what I deserve, yada yada yada.”

“Korra…” Asami sounded slightly exasperated.

“So, is that a yes?” Korra pouted.

“No, I-”

“No!?”

“No, I mean, yes! Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend. But Korra- _mmph_.”

Korra pressed their lips together, swallowing whatever Asami had planned on saying next. It wasn’t long before Asami started to eagerly kiss her back, running her tongue along Korra’s bottom lip the way she always did when she was requesting entrance. Korra opened her mouth a little wider to let Asami in, moaning when their tongues finally collided and slid against each other in that familiar way that made heat pool in her lower stomach.

Asami was such a good kisser, it almost wasn’t fair. She knew exactly where to touch Korra as they made out, knew what little caresses would drive her crazy. Knew when to pull away and give her a chance to catch her breath, moving down to lavish her neck and collarbone with kisses before coming back up to continue their intricate tongue dance.

Once they started, it was basically impossible to stop, and soon they were both naked on the living room couch, their hands exploring each other’s bodies almost frantically. Somehow, Korra ended up straddling Asami. She pulled away panting, running her fingers up and down the expanse of Asami’s body, scratching along her stomach teasingly, rubbing light circles over the points of her nipples. Asami groaned and arched into her touch, her chest and neck flushing red, her fingers digging into Korra’s thighs.

“Korraaa…upstairs. Now.”

Korra shook her head no.

“I want you right here. I wanna see you. Let me see you, Asami _?_ ” She begged, her voice sounding deeper than usual. Asami nodded willingly and leaned back against the couch, inviting Korra to look upon her as she pleased.

Korra let her eyes roam over Asami. They traveled down from her flushed face to her heaving chest to her flat stomach, even further to take in the tuft of curly black pubic hair in between her legs. She smiled briefly as she remembered the first time Asami went down on her, raving about how much she loved her bush and vowing to grow hers out like that too.

Korra took a finger and gently traced the outline of Asami’s pubic bone, making her shudder and cry out, begging Korra to touch her. Her gaze flitted upwards and landed on Asami’s shoulder, where she noticed a small birthmark there that kind of resembled a crescent moon. She leaned forward to press a kiss against it.

“Korraaaa! Why are you torturing me?” Asami whined.

“I’m not.” Korra giggled. “I’m just admiring the artwork.”

“You can touch it too.”

“Oh, you mean I’m not already?”

“You know what I mean.” Asami glared at her.

“Do I?”

“I’m gonna scream if you don’t touch me. Is that what you want me to do?”

“That’s funny, ‘cause I actually wanted you to scream _as_ I was touching you…”

“ _Korra._ ”

“Okay, okay. You win. Desperation really isn’t classy, Miss Sato.” Korra teased. She held Asami’s stare as she kissed her way down her body. Asami’s pupils were so dilated, it made her eyes look nearly black. She watched lustfully as Korra kissed a hot trail down the middle of her body, biting her lip when she stopped right above her clit and blew air onto it. Asami lifted her hips up slightly to help Korra reach her target and Korra laughed.

“You mind if I try something?” She asked softly, looking up at Asami from in between her legs.

“ _Anything_ , Korra. You can do whatever you want to me, just please make me come. _Please._ ” Asami moaned, and that was all the encouragement that Korra needed.

She leaned down to press gentle kisses along Asami’s inner thighs before focusing her attention on the main event. Gently, she stroked her tongue up and down in a straight line, lingering for just a split second longer whenever she made her way back up to Asami’s clit, not trying to make her come just yet. Above her, she heard Asami grumble and complain about Korra not doing enough, but Korra just smiled and ignored her. Asami claimed to hate being teased, but Korra knew it was a front, knew how much Asami loved being worked up until she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore and then was finally pushed over the edge. She repeated her actions until Asami was wet enough for her to do what she wanted and then pulled away.

“Wh- Why’d you stop?” Asami huffed out, her tone accusatory.

Korra laughed. “I told you I wanted to try something.”

She sucked her pointer finger into her mouth while still maintaining eye contact, smiling when Asami moaned and she felt her stomach contract underneath her palms. Slowly, she slid her finger into Asami, giving them both time to get used to the new sensation. Korra bit her lip as she felt the warmth surrounding her finger, the sounds of Asami begging her to keep going only serving to turn her on even more.

Once her finger acclimated to the environment, she twisted her hand until her palms faced up and then felt around the top of Asami’s walls until she felt the telltale rough, puffy patch that the book had promised would be there. Asami unknowingly confirmed she was successful in her search when she gasped as Korra tenderly stroked the area with the tip of finger.

“ _What was that?”_ Asami asked, her eyes wide and her chest rising up and down rapidly, as if she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs to keep up with the rest of her body.

“Did it hurt?” Korra implored, briefly pausing her ministrations.

Asami shook her head vigorously, causing some of her hair to slip out of her bun and cling onto her sweat-soaked neck.

“N-no.” She stammered.

“Can you spread your legs more?”

Asami whimpered as she complied, placing one leg over the back of the couch and the other over Korra’s shoulder, propping herself up against the armrest and staring down at Korra.

“Can you do that again?” She asked shyly.

Korra stroked her finger against the spot in response, then brought her mouth down to suck on her clit at the same time.

“ _Ohhhh, God._ ” Asami bucked her hips harder against Korra’s mouth and hand.

She gingerly withdrew her hand and brought her pointer and middle finger up to her mouth, Asami’s taste spreading over her tongue. She moaned and then slid the digits out of her mouth, putting two fingers inside Asami this time and stroking along her walls until she felt the spot again, then bending down to suck Asami’s clit into her mouth once more.

She continued doing this as Asami moaned and squealed loud enough for the sounds to bounce off the walls and echo down the hallway that led to the foyer. They were sure to get a noise complaint with how loud Asami was being, but Korra didn’t care. She loved that she could make Asami so unhinged and wild, completely at her mercy. She began pumping her fingers in and out, making sure to hit the spot every time her fingers were back inside by curling them just so.

Asami began contracting rapidly around her fingers, indicating that she was close to her orgasm. Korra released her clit from her mouth with a wet _‘pop’_ and then shifted them around so that Asami was sitting up and she was on her knees by Asami’s side, her fingers still busy at work inside of Asami.

“Korraa…something’s happening. Something’s _happening._ ” Asami whimpered.

She almost sounded scared. It made Korra pause to take a look at her face and make sure everything was okay. Asami’s face was tomato red and sweaty, her breathing erratic. She was biting her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Do you want me to stop?” Korra asked, concerned.

“No, please don’t. _Please, don’t._ I’m so close, Korra, please don't stop.”

Korra immediately resumed her actions, keeping her eyes trained on Asami’s face to detect any sign of discomfort. Soon enough, the contractions began again, but this time she kept going.

“I want you to come for me, Asami.” She whispered into her ear.

“ _Nghhh. Ahhh, fuck! Fuuuck! I’m almost there, Korraaa. Ahhhhhh!”_

Korra leaned down to suck Asami’s nipple into her mouth, lavishing it with her tongue and biting it softly, just how Asami liked it. She heard Asami gasp and then her hips stilled. For a split second, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Then, Asami threw her head back and screamed at the ceiling, a burst of hot liquid shooting out of her and splashing down the front of the couch, some of it landing on the coffee table.

Korra kept pumping until she felt Asami stop contracting around her. She gently extracted her fingers and wiped them against her discarded shirt on the floor, then sat back on the couch and cuddled into Asami. She frowned when she saw a couple of tears slither down Asami’s cheeks, wiping them off with the back of her hand.

“Are you okay?”

Asami snorted. “I’m more than okay.” She said shakily.

“Then why are you crying?” Korra grinned.

“Tears of joy.”

They both laughed as Asami shook her head, still trying to recover.

“I’ve never…that’s never happened to me before. I didn’t even know I could _do_ that.” Asami confessed in awe.

“You’re welcome.” Korra teased.

“Shut up.” Asami said in mock annoyance, rolling her eyes.

She suddenly looked down at the mess she had made on the couch and table and then groaned.

“Korra, I wish you would have told me what you were gonna do before. I would’ve gotten a towel.” She grumbled.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Asami bit her lip and looked at Korra earnestly.

“Can you show me how to do that to you?”

“You wanna do it to me?”

“If you…if you want me to. I’m gonna get a towel this time though.”

Korra smiled and nodded her head, laughing when Asami scurried off the couch and strutted over to the downstairs supply cabinet to get a towel.

She leaned her head against the couch and sighed happily as she watched her girlfriend pace around the house naked, seemingly eager to get back to her and finish what they were doing. Her _girlfriend_. Asami was hers, and she was Asami’s.

Kya was wrong about them, about the intricacies of their relationship. She wasn’t Asami’s dirty little secret; she was in love and she was almost positive that Asami loved her back. Sure, they had to hide from the world right now, but it wouldn’t be like this forever; Korra just had to be patient, and she would be. She would wait an eternity for Asami if she had to, simply because no one else was worth it. Her and Asami would make it, because they were made for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: Brief (like very,very brief) mention of drug overdose and attempted suicide. Sorry, this is late buddies, I had a rough week with midterms. Got about 15 hours of sleep total over the last five days, hahaha.  
> But Anyways!! Korra’s so cute and sprung, I love my lil angel baby. But uhhh, hang out with your friends, bitch. 
> 
> [Revamped Poll :)](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-x2vIpmbHADk9lbmuWONTgNzYDJbr7FMlmziolyRVOU/viewform?edit_requested=true)


	24. Amour Plastique-Videoclub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami go on vacation together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Et la nuit, quand tout est sombre, je te regarde danser ~

Korra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a migraine coming on. They had been sitting in the grass of the courtyard for an hour already and yet had made absolutely no progress with the art project. Every idea that Korra volunteered, Azula would shoot down with a sneer and a look of boredom mixed with annoyance, even though she had offered no ideas herself. Korra might have taken it personally, if the looks weren’t coming from someone who she knew had it out for her anyways, and also who seemed to be on the mentally unstable side. Honestly, she just wanted to hurry up and get this over with so that she could sneak in a quick meeting with Asami before running off to basketball practice.

“Look ‘Zula-”

“It’s _Azula_. I didn’t give you permission to shorten my name.” Azula spat out. She kinda had a point there, but Korra was too annoyed to truly be sorry.

“Okay, fine. Whatever. _Azula_. I don’t think it’s fair for me to come up with all the ideas just to have you shoot them down.”

“Oh my God, you’re such a big baby. It’s called constructive criticism.”

“It’s not constructive, it’s degrading.” Korra glared. “You don’t have to be so mean about it.”

“Well maybe I wouldn’t be if every idea you came up with wasn’t so incredibly _stupid._ ” Azula snorted and shot her a look of contempt.

“At least I come up with ideas. All you’ve done is sit here and criticize mine.” Korra said hotly. The nerve of this girl, to belittle and judge her when she hadn’t even put an ounce of effort into a project that they were _both_ going to be graded on. Kya was out of her mind; there was absolutely no way Azula had anything that could resemble a crush on Korra. The idea of it, especially giving her behavior right now, was preposterous.

“If I had known you were gonna be such a brat about everything, I would have picked another junior to do this with.” Azula rolled her eyes and brought her hand up to inspect her nails.

Huh. So, Azula _had_ purposely singled her out for this project. But Korra was certain it wasn’t because she had a crush on her, as Kya claimed. There had to be some other reason behind this, and by the way things were going, Korra was sure that her explanation made more sense. Azula was getting her back for taking her position on volleyball, for humiliating her on the beach. Maybe…maybe she was even mad at Korra for possibly “stealing” Kuzon from her. Azula had seemed interested in him that day and Korra had caught Azula eyeing them multiple times. What if Azula had a crush on Kuzon and Korra had just inconsiderately trampled both her heart _and_ her ego into the sand that day?

Korra groaned inwardly and rested her forehead on the palm of her hand. She could be so clueless when it came to other people’s feelings sometimes. It’s no wonder Azula hated her so much; she had just swooped in and messed up everything Azula had going, and then had the nerve to act like she wasn’t aware.

Well, in her defense, she actually _wasn’t_ aware, but Azula didn’t know that. She probably figured that Korra was doing these things on purpose and then putting on an innocent façade when confronted about it. Korra lifted her head up, determined. She could fix this. Her and Azula might even be able to be friends before she graduated; They just had to start over.

“Azula…Listen, I’m sorry if I ever did anything…or said anything to make you not like me.” Korra angled her body towards Azula, her head slightly bowed as a semblance of truce. “I would really like for us to start over though. Maybe even…be friends before you graduate?”

Azula put her hand slowly and turned to look at Korra, confusion plastered across her face.

“What are on earth are talking about?”

“Well, I just…I mean you don’t seem to like me. And I don’t know why, so I’m just apologizing in case I did something to you-”

“And what did you exactly did you do to me?”

“I um-” Korra rubbed the back of her neck anxiously. This wasn’t going how she thought it would. She hadn’t planned for Azula to actually make her say what she assumed she did, and now she was in too deep to just move past it and onto another topic. She wanted to slap herself for even bringing this up. Honestly, she should’ve just kept quiet and endured this until Azula graduated. Some people just weren’t worth trying to talk to.

“I…well the whole volleyball thing…on the beach… and just in general, when Coach put me in as libero instead of you. And um.” She coughed to clear her throat. “I saw the way you were looking at Kuzon, but I’m really not good at reading people, so I didn’t realize you had a crush on him until recently. I didn’t mean to take him from you, I swear! But I-”

Korra’s monologue is cut short by the sound of Azula’s laughter. It’s not regular laughing though; it’s cold and mocking, one that Korra feels is going to be followed up with a vicious attack on her ego.

Azula finally stops snickering and looks Korra dead in her eyes, her face twisted up into a cruel scorn, her tone emotionless, harsh, and sarcastic when she started to speak.

“You are so absolutely full of yourself; it almost makes me sick.” Azula gets close to her face, close enough for Korra to be able to smell the mint from the gum that she had been chewing, close enough to feel tiny spurts of air from Azula’s breath tickle her nose. From an outsider, it might even look like they were about to kiss…

“If I wanted Kuzon… and I mean really, _really_ wanted him…he’d be mine. You think you’re so high and mighty, that everyone is in love with you and if they aren’t, then there must be some hidden reason. You’re so innocent and precious and _sweet_. How could anyone not fall in love with perfect little Korra, huh?”

Korra cringed and pulled back slightly, the hair on her arms standing straight up and her jaw tightening against her will. No one had ever talked to her this way. So cruel and mocking, as if she was just an insignificant bug that they could crush with the tip of their shoe and go on about their day without a care in the world.

“I wasn’t… I was j-just trying to-” She stuttered but was cut off by another snort from Azula.

“Well stop fucking trying. Not everyone has to be your friend. Maybe you’re just not as likeable as you seem to think you are.” With that, Azula promptly stood up and dusted herself off, swooping down to pick up her backpack. She glanced down at Korra briefly as she adjusted her ponytail.

“I’m going to be swamped during the week up until the project is due, so the only time we can meet is on the weekends. I wanna spend as little time with you as possible, so let’s aim for Saturday mornings to get this over with at the beginning of the day.”

Korra sat on the ground in a daze, her mind still reeling from the cruelty of Azula’s words. She had barely comprehended what Azula had just said about their meetings when she noticed that Azula was already walking away.

“Hey, wait!” Korra scurried from off the ground as Azula turned back around to face her.

“I can’t meet on the weekends. I’m busy.” Korra snapped, her resolve to be nice to Azula slipping down the drain. Azula had said so herself, they could never be friends. Her best plan of action was to just hurry up and finish this project so that she could be done with this girl and never have to see her again after she graduated.

“Ohhhh I’m so sorry. Am I cutting into your precious time with your precious little boyfriend?” Azula said in mock concern. She shrugged. “Oh well. Guess you’ll have to sneak off campus to go fuck him after we’re done meeting. See you at nine am tomorrow morning.” She sang and then walked away before Korra could make another retort.

Korra stared after her for a while, her heart still hammering in her chest from the adrenaline of the confrontation, rage threatening to boil over and spill onto the grass beneath her. She sat back down in a huff and buried her face into her hands, holding back the scream of irritation she so desperately wanted to belt out.

* * *

“She hates me! And you know what? That’s fine! Because maybe I hate her too!” Korra stomped past Asami into her room and dumped her backpack on the floor. She flopped down on the mattress with a grunt, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it.

“Well, hello to you too Korra. Please, come right on in.” Asami said, sounding amused. Korra heard the click of the door locking shut and then soft footsteps as Asami made her way across the room. The bed sunk in as she settled down next to her, gravity pulling her down slightly into Asami’s chest. Korra turned on her side to face her. 

“I’m sorry. Hi Asami.” Korra said, smiling softly.

“Hi honey.” Asami returned the smile and reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind Korra’s ear. “Having a bad day?”

Korra leaned forward and kissed Asami lightly on the lips. “Not anymore.”

“Korra…” Asami whispered. There was a warning in her voice.

Korra pouted. “What? It’s just us in here. Unless you have someone hiding under your bed?” She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Asami laughed. “What happened?” She asked, changing the subject. Korra sighed and turned her attention to the ceiling above them.

“Azula happened.” She mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Oh.” Asami got up, making Korra shift back into her former position. She went around the room, hanging up clothes from her suitcase as Korra vented about her conversation with Azula.

“I don’t know, Asami. She just seems to have it out for me. I don’t know what I did to make her hate me so much. At first, I thought it was because of volleyball and taking her spot as the libero. Then I thought maybe she was mad at me about Kuzon.”

“Why would she be mad at you about Kuzon?” Asami looked at her curiously.

Korra felt herself blushing, not too keen on the idea of having to repeat her thought process out loud. Azula had made it clear that she was crazy for jumping to that conclusion, but it had made complete sense to her at that moment. She didn’t want Asami to look at her differently or think that she put herself on such a high pedestal that the only reason a person would have to not like her was because they were jealous of her in some way.

_Thanks for putting that in my head, Azula._

“Oh…ummm…it’s stupid really. Not that big of a deal.”

“Just tell me.”

“Nah, it’s okay.”

“Korra! Now I really wanna know what made you think that. You can’t just open up a can of worms and then not feed it to the birds.”

Korra looked up to see Asami smirking at her, arms crossed impatiently over her chest. Korra gave in. She could never say no to that face. She threw her arms up exasperatedly and rolled over onto her stomach, facing away from Asami.

“Ugh, okay! _Fine._ I saw her looking at me and Kuzon that day we were on the beach. Like, constantly. And I didn’t realize until now it’s probably because she had a crush on him. I thought maybe she didn’t like me because she felt I stole him from her. But I didn’t even get the chance to tell her that I’m not with him anymore before she basically called me a self-centered asshole and then stormed off.” Korra let out a puff of air in frustration. God, she had really mucked things up with Azula. Why was it so hard for her to keep her big mouth _shut_?

“What makes you think she was looking at Kuzon?” Asami quipped. Korra turned and squinted at her in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

Asami shrugged. “I’m just saying, there were a lot of people on that beach…maybe she was looking at someone else.”

“I’m _pretty_ sure she was looking at Kuzon.”

“Well…maybe she wasn’t…”

“Asami…”

“What?”

Korra tried to rack her memory and sift through that day before she responded, but honestly, the only moments she really remembered were the ones she shared with Asami. The anger and hopelessness she felt when she saw her with Mako, the curve of her body outlined by her white one-piece bathing suit. How comforting it was for Asami to be the first thing Korra saw when she opened her eyes after Azula had knocked her out, the sun beaming down around her head, forming a halo and making her appear angelic. Suddenly, Azula and her one-sided hatred was the absolute least of Korra’s concerns.

“You seem really upset about this.” Asami remarked quietly, snapping Korra out of her musing. Korra glanced over towards the closet, watching as Asami put a hanger through a shirt, chewing her bottom lip the way she always did when she was in deep thought about something.

“Well yea…I guess I am. I don’t like people not liking me. Especially when I don’t know _why_.” Korra said absentmindedly, getting up to go and stand behind her.

“Azula’s never been the friendliest person. Don’t take it to heart.” Asami offered. She let out a surprised gasp when Korra pulled her into a hug from behind, nuzzling into her neck and painting featherlight kisses behind her ear.

“ _Korra._ ” Asami moaned softly.

“I don’t want to talk about Azula anymore.” Korra murmured. She brought a hand up to swoop Asami’s hair out of the way, bringing her mouth back down to suck on the nape of her neck.

She whimpered as Korra walked them forward until she had Asami sandwiched between her and the closet door. Her hand inched underneath the waistband of Asami’s pencil skirt, fingers tracing the outline of her mound through her panties and silk stockings. Asami pushed back into Korra, trying to help her reach her target even as she voiced her protest.

“Oh, _God_ …Korra, _please._ ” She panted.

“Please, what?”

“We can’t do this here, Korra.”

“I can be quiet. I want you so bad, Asami. Let me make you come.” She begged. She cupped Asami’s mound in her hand and pushed her hips forward, pressing herself into Asami and making her grind into the heel of her hand.

“ _Tonight_. I promise, I’m all yours tonight. _Fuck._ ” Korra had started to rub circles around Asami’s clit, licking her lips in excitement as she felt moisture begin to soak through Asami’s undergarments. She wondered if Asami had always been this easy to turn on or if Korra was the only one that made her like this.

She didn’t want to ask out of fear of what the answer might be, but she desperately hoped that she was. It was naïve of her, but for the rest of her life, she wanted to be the only person to have ever made Asami feel this way, the only person that ever got to see Asami this depraved, this eager for her touch.

“I’m so _close_.” Asami whined and Korra reached her free hand up to cover Asami’s mouth to keep her from making too much noise; She had a tendency to be loud when she came. She could hear the slick sounds of Asami’s arousal in the brief moments of quiet between her pants and moans.

“You want me to stop now?” Korra whispered into her ear. Asami let out a moan that was muffled by Korra’s hand. She shook her head and Korra sped up her movements, rubbing in small, precise circles around Asami’s clit.

“We really shouldn’t be doing this on campus though, huh?” Korra teased. Asami let out another whine, her breath hot against Korra’s palm.

“I don’t know Asami, maybe I should stop. I mean…I don’t want us to get caught…” She trailed off, slowing down her hand. Asami groaned and reached down to keep Korra’s hand firmly in place, humping against it when Korra ceased all her movements.

Korra couldn’t quite make out Asami’s words, but she knew that she was begging for her to continue. She felt a sudden swell of glee shoot through her at the prospect of toying with Asami like this, making her wait until later to come. She pulled away completely and left Asami a shuddering mess against the closet door.

“On second thought Asami, I really think you’re right. We shouldn’t be doing this here. We can just pick up from where we left off later.” She pretended to stifle a yawn and stretched her arms out, almost losing it at the flabbergasted look Asami was sending her way.

“I’m also kind of tired anyways. I think I might take a nap before dinner.” She gave a small smile, watching as Asami regained her composure, adjusting the front of her skirt and fixing her hair.

“I’m gonna pay you back for this.”

“I don’t think I know what you’re talking about, Miss Sato.”

“What time can we leave tonight?” Asami grumbled, ignoring Korra’s smug expression.

Korra opened her mouth to respond, but then immediately closed it again when she remembered her conversation with Azula. She groaned and shook her head.

“You’re gonna be so mad at me…”

Asami’s face fell. “What? Why?”

“It’s Azula.”

“…what about Azula?” Asami asked.

“She forced me to meet with her on the weekends so now I can’t come over Friday nights anymore.” Korra felt herself getting angry all over again. She hated that this was upsetting her so much. Okay, so maybe Azula had a small point about Korra feeling like everyone had to like her, but like, what was so wrong about that?! She was a pleasant person, not too smart, not cocky, not overwhelmingly beautiful to where it would make other girls insecure. She had a good sense of humor and was kind to everyone she came in contact with. There wasn’t a single viable reason for Azula to _not_ to like her. Seriously, what the hell was her problem?

“It’s okay, Korra. Honestly. We can just spend Saturday nights together.”

“Yea but until June? And there’s gonna be some weekends where I can’t come over at all. She’s ruining everything.” Korra complained.

“Don’t let her stress you out honey. It’s only for a little while.” Asami chuckled and resumed hanging her clothes up in the closet. “At least now you can look forward to spring break.”

Korra sighed. “Yea…I’ll definitely need a break after working with that nut.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do?”

“I don’t, actually. Probably just go home with my dad…or-” Korra stopped talking suddenly as the wheels turned in her head. _Of course!_ A whole entire week off, just the two of them, not having to rush back to campus after only two short days together. Why hadn’t she thought about this sooner?

“Or I can spend it with you.” Korra said softly. Asami paused her actions, a shirt hanging halfway off a hanger. She turned to look at Korra uncertainly.

“Korra… I don’t think that’s a-”

“We can rent out an Airbnb in Malibu or Lake Tahoe or Palm Springs, anywhere you want. It doesn’t even have to be in Cali.” Korra rushed out. “We’ll be in a city where no one knows us. We don’t have to leave the house unless it’s for groceries and even then, we can have them delivered to us. It’ll be a whole week where we can just be together and not have to worry about anything Asami, _please._ I’ll be extra cautious about being in public together and I can even pay for the house, I’ve been saving up for special occasions, please just think about it, Asami, I promise I-”

“Okay.” Came the response, short and sweet. Korra nearly choked on her spit, not quite certain that she had heard Asami correctly.

“I’m sorry, what did you-”

“I said okay.” Asami laughed. “I’ll go with you. We’ll go on vacation together.”

“Just the two of us?” Korra asked in awe. Asami shot her a dazzling smile, making her heart pump twice as fast, her chest swelling with love.

“Just the two of us.”

Korra raced forward to pull Asami into a kiss, encircling her arms around her neck and jumping up to wrap her legs around Asami’s waist. She swallowed Asami’s squeal of surprise in her mouth, moaning when she felt Asami’s hands come around to cup her butt, holding her securely in place. They pulled away for air and Korra grinned.

“Thank you. Thank you. thank you.” She whispered as she peppered kisses across every inch of Asami’s face. _I love you. I love you. I love you_. She wanted so badly to say instead.

Asami laughed and tenderly let her back down.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night then?”

Korra nodded eagerly and then went to grab her things from the side of Asami’s bed. As she made her way to the door, she turned around once more to beam at Asami. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to convince her to go. She felt as though she was walking on clouds.

“And Korra.”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t think I forgot about what you did to me earlier.” Asami glared at her, but Korra could see the underlying hint of seduction in Asami’s gaze. She shivered thinking about all the ways Asami would pay her back.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She gave Asami a wink before slipping into the hallway and shutting the door quietly behind her.

After checking to make sure no one was around, Korra bolted up the stairs and dashed to her dorm room. In her rush to escape, she almost knocked over Kya, who was leaving the room just as she was going on.

“Korra!”

“Kya!” They yelled simultaneously.

“I was actually looking for you. Where are you running from? Why are you in such a rush?” Kya looked at her, a smirk on her face.

“I was just…I was running from practice.” Korra babbled.

“Mmhmm…well listen anyways, I have to tell you something.”

“Okay wait, me first.”

“No Korra, seriously this is really important. I’ve been se-”

“Mine is important too!” Korra pouted. She looks around and then pushes Kya back into the room, shutting the door behind them for privacy. “I’m going on vacation with Asami and I need you to cover for me.” She whispered excitedly.

“You…you’re _what_? You need me to _what_?”

“Please, Kya? I just need to tell my dad that I’ll be at your house, in case he tries to call or something.”

“Korra this is insane. You’ve gone insane!”

“Kya, please! I would do it for you. Please, it’d mean the world to me, you have no idea.”

“But Korra-”

“Please Kya. Please please please pleassseee?” She gave Kya puppy dog eyes, clasping her hands together in front of her in a begging manner.

Kya clucked her tongue and turned her face away from Korra. “Alright, alright. _Fine_.” 

Korra squealed in excitement and wrapped her arms around Kya, squeezing her tightly. 

“Okay, I need your help planning it. Asami and I are gonna go over it more this weekend, but I kinda wanna narrow down the locations before I get there. I feel like too many choices might overwhelm her, and I don’t want her to change her mind.” Korra bit her lip and shuffled over to her desk, digging through a drawer in search of a pen and pencil.

“Wait, Korra, I didn’t get to tell you-”

“So, I already mentioned Malibu, Lake Tahoe, and Palm Springs, but what are some other options? She seemed okay with going out of state, but I want to be reasonable, ya know? Which one do you think is best?” Korra began jotting down her ideas as she spoke, waiting for Kya answer. There were so many thoughts floating through her head, her hands shook as she hurriedly tried to write them all down.

She still couldn’t believe that Asami agreed to this. A whole entire week with just the two of them, no stress about their relationship being exposed. She would be able to hold and kiss Asami whenever she wanted, make love to her whenever she wanted. This was almost too much for her to process. She suddenly remembered that she was waiting for an answer from Kya and looked up at her impatiently.

“Well? Kya come on. I really need your help.” Korra pouted.

Kya stared at her for moment, her face unreadable. She finally sighed and trudged over next to Korra, pulling up her chair so that she could sit down.

“Lake Tahoe is beautiful around this time of year. My parents like to go to Sonoma sometimes too. It’s kind of like an off-brand version of Napa.” She offered.

Korra grinned excitedly and jotted down Kya’s suggestions, urging her to continue.

This spring break would be absolutely perfect; she was sure of it.

* * *

_I can’t believe I’m doing this._

Asami repeated the phrase over and over and over again in her mind as she sped down the I-80 E freeway. It just didn’t make any sense. She was really going to spend an entire week at Lake Tahoe with her student…the student who was also her…girlfriend? Everything involving Korra just seemed completely and utterly crazy. At times things seemed to move so fast that Asami felt as if she was seeing her life flash by in a blur, stuck in a constant state of dizziness and confusion, her only anchor to this reality being Korra’s affectionate gaze or her gentle caresses.

Korra was in love with her. She hadn’t said it, but she really didn’t need to; Asami could feel it. She could feel it in the way Korra clung onto her after they had sex, how she whispered into Asami’s ear to wake her up in the mornings, the secret smiles and the longing stares she would give Asami when she was sure no one was watching them. Asami was surprised she hadn’t said it yet. There were moments when she was certain that Korra would say it, where Korra would stare at Asami for so long that Asami would start to squirm under her gaze, but she would always look away eventually, shaking her head and then bringing up a safe topic, something light-hearted and easy for them to laugh about. She was probably scared that saying it would be too much for Asami, and honestly Asami didn’t blame her.

What would Asami say back, if Korra ever did confess her love. Did she _love_ Korra? Those intense feelings that she acknowledged when they went on their first date never really went away. If anything, they had only seemed to grow stronger, more overwhelming and confusing, causing her to ability to say no to disappear and forcing her to make rash decisions…much like the one she had made most recently when she said yes to going on this God forsaken trip. But would she go as far as to call it love? No. When it’s love, you don’t question it; you just…know. And although Asami had never been in love before, she’s pretty sure it’s not something one would be confused about. She figured it’d be as simple as the sun setting and rising every day, as sure as the principles of gravity. You don’t question whether something is going to fall when you throw it up in the air or whether the sun is going to rise again once it’s slipped beneath the ocean and been replaced by the moon; you just _know_.

So, what then, were these feelings she had for Korra? It bothered Asami to no end that she couldn’t name what she felt, or even pinpoint exactly where these emotions came from, but she wouldn’t dwell on them right now. Nor would she think about the heartbreak Korra might experience when she realizes that Asami doesn’t reciprocate her feelings in the same way. Maybe it was selfish of her, but this week, her sole focus would be on Korra, on her girlfriend, and on enjoying the little time they had to be free together. Her _girlfriend_.

She smiled at that thought, and briefly turned to glance at Korra, who was chattering away excitedly in the passenger seat, going over the details of their itinerary.

“…get checked into the Airbnb, which is really nice by the way. I don’t know if you remember, but the interior of the house is like 60s and 70s inspired, you know? With like dark green carpet, and wood paneling walls, and those ugly plaid sofas? God, I’m glad those went out of style, but also, I kinda like them? It’s weird. I remember them advertising a huge TV in the living room. And oh my God, and they have a hot tub! We get it all to ourselves, isn’t that awesome So, anyways, after we get checked in, I actually made us reservations at-”

Asami pulled to a stop at the red light, giving her some time to admire Korra’s side profile. She reached over to fix a strand of her hair that had slipped out of the ponytail she had it in, then ran the back of her fingers along Korra’s cheek. Korra stopped talking and nuzzled into her touch, bringing her hand up and clasping onto Asami’s wrist. A hint of a blush swept along her cheeks and nose. It always amused Asami how easy it was to fluster her.

“I’m sorry. Am I talking too much? I’m just really excited to be alone with you for longer than one and a half days.”

Asami smiled and shook her head no, emphasizing her answer by leaning over the center console and kissing Korra softly on the lips.

“I’m really excited too.”

Korra grinned and linked their fingers together, facing towards the window to look out at the scenery. The light turned green and Asami pressed on the gas, the car jolting forward, the trees meshing back together in a blur as they picked up speed.

They pulled into their Airbnb about thirty minutes later, with Korra immediately hopping out of the car and running over to the driver’s side to pull Asami out with her. Her breathless laugh was cut short by Korra kissing her. Out of habit, she tensed up and started to pull away, but Korra held her tight.

“No one’s here. It’s just us.” She whispered against Asami’s lips.

Her tone made Asami shiver, but she complied and relaxed into Korra’s hold. She even pulled Korra back into another kiss when Korra started to back away. Korra laughed.

“Come on, Asami. We have to hurry up and put our stuff in the house so we can go to dinner.”

Asami sighed and reluctantly allowed Korra to walk away from her. She really didn’t want to go out to dinner. Cuddling up with Korra in front of the TV with a mug of hot chocolate sounded much more appealing.

“What can I do to convince you to stay in tonight?” Asami asked as she lifted open the trunk and handed Korra a duffel bag.

“Ummm…nothing. Because I reserved a table for us, and the restaurant has a very strict no same-day cancellation policy.”

Asami groaned and closed the lid of the trunk. She followed Korra into the house and set their belongings down next to the front door, taking in the plush dark green carpet and wood walls with flowers stickled all over them. There were small steps that led down into the living room, with a huge plaid patterned sofa and TV built into a bookshelf. Adjacent to the living room was the kitchen, and through the kitchen door, Asami could see an arch that led to a hallway, where she assumed the bedrooms were. A glass door in the living room opened up to the deck, with the promised hot tub nestled neatly into the corner. Asami could hear the bubbling of the jacuzzi from her position in the living room, and instantly got an idea on how she could convince Korra to stay in tonight.

“Okay, I’m gonna put the rest of our stuff in the room and then freshen up. Be ready when I come out, Miss Sato.” Korra sang as she paced down the hallway and disappeared into the bedroom.

Asami waited for a couple moments until she was sure that Korra wouldn’t come back out. Once the coast was clear, she quickly began to shimmy out of her clothes, leaving a trail behind her as she made her way to the hot tub outside. She was naked by the time she reached the glass door, stepping out of her shoes and onto the deck outside. She gasped as the cold air hit her and made her nipples stiffen. Night was swiftly replacing day, and the lights from the jacuzzi glowed in contrast to the darkness surrounding it.

Asami gingerly placed one foot into the tub to test the water, sliding all the way in and releasing a sigh when she discovered that the warm temperature was the perfect escape from the chill of the evening air. She didn’t have to wait long for Korra to come back from the bedroom. She could hear her name being called, even through the thick glass door.

“Asami? Sami’ where’d you go? Come on, we have to leave or else we’re gonna be late…” Her voice trailed off as she came into view, finally noticing the trail of clothes that led to the door. Asami watched as Korra slowly followed the path, sliding the door open and leaning against the frame, smirking at Asami.

Asami gave Korra her most seductive smile, crossing her legs and leaning back against the tub, the water just _barely_ reaching up to cover her breasts.

“Hi Korra.” She said innocently.

“Asami, what are you doing?”

“Oh, ya know…just enjoying this hot tub that you’ve been raving about so much.”

“I wasn’t raving about it _that_ much.”

“Tomatoe, Tomahtoe.”

“Asami-”

“You should join me. It’s plenty of room in here.”

“Asami, I made reservations.”

Asami stood up slowly, seductively, feeling her nipples harden as they came back into contact with the frigid night air, water sliding down the front of her body. She made her way over to the side of tub closest to Korra, watching in amusement as Korra floated toward her as if she was a moth being drawn to a light.

“You’re so beautiful.” Korra whispered.

Asami smiled and reached out to undo Korra’s button up shirt, biting her lip when the warm, brown skin underneath it was exposed. She ran her fingers lightly over the front of Korra’s body, tracing circles around her stiff nipples through her cotton bra.

“ _Asami_ …” 

“Take these off.” She murmured, making a gesture at the rest of Korra’s clothes. She watched impatiently as Korra stripped and then helped her climb into the tub.

“Asami…I put down a deposit.” Korra moaned as Asami hungrily licked and nibbled at her neck and collarbone, carding her wet fingers through Korra's hair to pull it out of the ponytail holder.

“We can be quick. Might still be able to make it.” She knew she was lying, and she knew Korra knew she was full of it, but she couldn’t keep her hands to herself.

“Why can’t I say no to you?” Korra mumbled, leaning her head back to let Asami litter kisses all over her neck. It’s funny, Asami thought, I think that same exact thing all the time when I’m with you. She let her hands roam Korra’s body, relishing the sound of Korra's moan when she finally reached the place they both desperately wanted her to.

They didn’t make it to their dinner reservation that night.

The rest of the week went by very much like all the times Asami spent with Korra: a blur, a dizzying haze full of happiness and laughter and lust. Every morning, Asami would wake up to Korra sprinkling kisses across her bare chest, making her way up until she reached Asami’s mouth. Every night would end with Korra panting her name, begging her for release.

When they weren’t making love, they were busy doing one of the many activities that Korra had signed them up for during their stay. They rented kayaks and paddled out over the clear bottom water near Bonsai Rock. The next day, Asami laughed hard enough to grow abs as she watched Korra struggle to retain her balance during their standing paddle board lessons. And hikes. Asami remembered vaguely mentioning how much she loved going on hikes, and she should be used to Korra remembering random, obscure things like that, but still she was surprised at the amount of effort Korra put in to making sure Asami had fun.

They hiked on the Rubicon trail, the Meeks Bay trail, and the Mt. Judah trail. Asami had never been so sore before in her entire life, but she wouldn’t trade this feeling for the world. She had thoroughly enjoyed her time with Korra and found that she didn’t want to go back to Omashu, back to the stress of keeping this a secret. It felt criminal to have to keep something that made her so happy a secret. She wished she could stay here forever in this little bubble that she and Korra had created, but she knew that wasn’t possible.

The last night of their week together, Korra had shut all the lights off in the house and turned on the record player situated in the living room. Asami giggled as Korra danced around the room off beat, ignoring her requests for Asami to join her, content to sit on the couch and watch as Korra swayed around to an old school record. Her body was illuminated by the light coming in from the deck outside, making her seem like a celestial being, gracing the dark earth with her presence, if only for a moment.

Asami felt her heart thump in time with the music, her cheeks ached from smiling so much. She had never felt this joyful in any of her relationships before. Something about Korra just brought out the best in her, made her want to shout and cry and laugh and dance, all at once.

It wasn’t love, she convinced herself. No, she wasn’t in _love_ with Korra. But as she watched her skip and spin around the dark room, she had to admit that whatever she was feeling was more intense than anything she’d ever felt for anyone else. She had to accept that this feeling _might_ possibly lead to love. And when that happened… _if_ that ever happened...she’d really be screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Start Note Translation: And at night when all is dark, I watch you dance.  
> Ahhh the honeymoon phase! Think this was my favorite chapter to write so far. I absolutely love this song. Ugh, I’m gonna have to scratch that weekly upload thing, school is really kicking my ass! I don’t know if it’s senioritis or what. Maybe I’m just tired of being in an academic setting rn?? Idk, I’m just looking forward to this “enrichment year” off before I dive into my premed post bac program. I’ll be updating this story whenever I can, as frequently as I can.
> 
> Also, I’m so sorry to make you fill out the poll again, but opinion stage was being weird, and I wanted more votes because two of the options were literally neck and neck SO, I went ahead and made a google form instead. I made it to where you have to sign in to submit a response, but this was only to make sure that the voting was fair and people couldn’t cast multiple votes (unless you sign in to multiple different emails, but at that point you must really want a certain story written, so I applaud the effort tbh haha) If you don’t feel comfortable signing into your account, just leave a comment under this chapter (or the next couple ones, whichever floats your boat) letting me know which one you wanted, and I’ll be sure to add your vote to the final count. Thanks for still sticking around, you guys are the best! <3
> 
> [Revamped Poll :)))](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-x2vIpmbHADk9lbmuWONTgNzYDJbr7FMlmziolyRVOU/viewform?edit_requested=true)


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